Case Note & Summary
The Bombay High Court, in a batch of writ petitions under Article 226 of the Constitution, challenged a pre-qualification condition (PQ5) in a Request for Proposal (RFP) issued by the Department of Food and Civil Supply and Consumer Protection of the Government of Maharashtra for the supply of food kits (Anandacha Shidha) for the Gauri Ganpati festival in the financial year 2024-2025. The RFP was floated on 18 July 2024, requiring the supply of approximately 1,70,82,086 food kits containing sugar, rawa, chana dal, and soyabean oil in polypropylene bags, to be delivered to taluka godowns across Maharashtra within 30 days of the supply order. The impugned condition (PQ5) required bidders to have experience of providing at least 300 labourers in 70 multiple locations in government and semi-government establishments within Maharashtra in a single work order completed during the last three years, with a value not less than Rs. 25 crores. The petitioners, Indo Allied Protein Foods Pvt. Ltd., Gunina Commercials Pvt. Ltd., and Kendriya Bhandar, argued that this condition was arbitrary, unreasonable, and tailored to exclude them, as it bore no relevance to the actual scope of work which involved supply of food kits, not labour deployment. The State defended the condition as necessary to ensure the bidder's capability to handle large-scale logistics. The court analyzed the RFP and found that the scope of work primarily involved packaging, transportation, and delivery of food kits, with unloading to be handled by the Department's agencies. The court held that the condition requiring experience in providing labourers was irrational and not germane to the contract, as the supplier's responsibility was limited to supply and delivery, not labour management. The court also noted that the condition effectively restricted competition to a few entities and was not based on any legitimate objective. Consequently, the court quashed the impugned condition (PQ5) and directed the State to re-evaluate the pre-qualification criteria in accordance with law. The petitions were allowed.
Headnote
A) Constitutional Law - Article 14 - Arbitrariness in Tender Conditions - Pre-qualification criterion requiring experience of providing 300 labourers in 70 government locations with Rs. 25 crore work order held arbitrary and unreasonable - The condition was found to be tailored to exclude eligible bidders and not relevant to the scope of work which involved supply of food kits, not labour-intensive work - Held that such condition violates Article 14 and is liable to be quashed (Paras 2-4, 11-20). B) Administrative Law - Judicial Review of Tender Conditions - Scope of Interference - Courts can interfere if condition is arbitrary, discriminatory, or mala fide - The impugned condition was found to be irrational and not based on any legitimate objective - Held that the condition must be struck down (Paras 11-20). C) Contract Law - Tender - Pre-qualification Criteria - Relevance to Scope of Work - The condition requiring labour experience was unrelated to the actual work of supply of food kits - The RFP's scope of work involved packaging, transportation, and delivery, not labour deployment - Held that the condition was not germane to the contract (Paras 7-9, 11-20).
Issue of Consideration
Whether the pre-qualification condition (PQ5) in the RFP requiring experience of providing at least 300 labourers in 70 multiple locations in government/semi-government establishments within Maharashtra in a single work order of value not less than Rs. 25 crores is arbitrary, unreasonable, and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India.
Final Decision
The court allowed the writ petitions and quashed the impugned condition (PQ5) in the RFP. The State was directed to re-evaluate the pre-qualification criteria in accordance with law.
Law Points
- Tender condition must be reasonable
- non-arbitrary
- and not tailored to exclude eligible bidders
- judicial review of tender conditions is limited but available when condition is arbitrary or mala fide
- pre-qualification criteria must be relevant to the scope of work
- Article 14 of Constitution of India prohibits arbitrary state action.
