Case Note & Summary
The petitioner, Coastal Marine Construction & Engineering Limited, filed a Writ Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India challenging the decision of respondent no.1, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), to hold the petitioner technically disqualified for the award of a contract for hiring services for geophysical survey and geotechnical surveys in Vashishtha, S1 & Manik fields in deep water locations of East Coast of India. The tender required bidders to have minimum two years experience as on the opening date of tender and to have executed at least one contract of the specified nature in the last ten years, including geophysical survey in deep water minimum 850 meters or above. The petitioner claimed that it met the criteria by relying on a contract with Reliance Industries Limited for geophysical survey in water depths up to 800 meters. The respondent no.1 rejected the petitioner's technical bid on the ground that the contract did not meet the deep water requirement of minimum 850 meters. The petitioner argued that the pre-bid conference allowed for clarification of deviations and that the respondent's interpretation was arbitrary. The court, after considering the submissions, held that the tender conditions were clear and unambiguous, requiring experience in deep water of minimum 850 meters. The petitioner's contract for up to 800 meters did not satisfy this condition. The court found that the respondent's decision was reasonable and not arbitrary, and that the court should not interfere with the tender process unless there is mala fides or arbitrariness. The writ petition was dismissed with no order as to costs.
Headnote
A) Tender Law - Bid Evaluation Criteria - Technical Qualification - Interpretation of Experience Requirements - The court examined whether the petitioner satisfied the condition of having minimum two years experience and having executed at least one contract of the specified nature in deep water (minimum 850 meters) as per clauses 1.1(a)(i) and 1.1(a)(ii) of the BEC - The court held that the petitioner failed to demonstrate that it had executed a contract for geophysical survey in deep water of minimum 850 meters, as the contract relied upon was for a maximum depth of 800 meters - The court found that the respondent's interpretation of the tender conditions was reasonable and not arbitrary - Held that the decision to disqualify the petitioner was justified (Paras 2-6).
Issue of Consideration
Whether the respondent no.1 (ONGC) was justified in holding the petitioner technically disqualified for not meeting the experience criteria as per the Bid Evaluation Criteria (BEC) in the tender for hiring services for geophysical and geotechnical surveys in deep water locations.
Final Decision
The writ petition is dismissed. No order as to costs.
Law Points
- Tender law
- Bid evaluation criteria
- Technical qualification
- Judicial review of contractual matters
- Interpretation of tender conditions
Case Details
2010 LawText (BOM) (02) 30
Writ Petition No.41 of 2010
Mr. Atul Rajyadhyaksha, Senior Advocate i/b. Ashwin Shankar for the petitioner; Mr. R.A. Dada, Senior Advocate with Ms Snehal Paranjpe, Mr. Zubair Dada, Mr. Jayendra Kapadia and Mr. O. Mohandas i/b. Little & Co. for respondent no.1
Coastal Marine Construction & Engineering Limited
Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Limited, Union of India
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Nature of Litigation
Writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India challenging the decision of respondent no.1 to hold the petitioner technically disqualified in a tender process.
Remedy Sought
The petitioner sought a writ of certiorari or any other appropriate writ to quash the decision of the respondents holding the petitioner technically disqualified, and a direction to consider the petitioner's technical bid as valid.
Filing Reason
The petitioner was disqualified on the ground that it did not meet the experience criteria of having executed at least one contract for geophysical survey in deep water of minimum 850 meters, as per the Bid Evaluation Criteria.
Issues
Whether the respondent no.1's interpretation of the tender condition requiring experience in deep water of minimum 850 meters was arbitrary and unreasonable.
Whether the petitioner satisfied the technical criteria by virtue of its contract with Reliance Industries Limited for geophysical survey in water depths up to 800 meters.
Submissions/Arguments
The petitioner argued that the pre-bid conference was meant to sort out exceptions/deviations, and that the respondent's rejection was arbitrary as the petitioner had substantial experience.
The respondent no.1 argued that the tender conditions were clear and unambiguous, and the petitioner's contract for up to 800 meters did not meet the minimum 850 meters requirement, hence the disqualification was justified.
Ratio Decidendi
In tender matters, the court should not interfere with the decision of the tendering authority unless it is arbitrary, mala fide, or perverse. The interpretation of tender conditions by the authority must be given due weight, and if the conditions are clear and unambiguous, they must be strictly complied with. The petitioner failed to meet the clear requirement of having executed a contract in deep water of minimum 850 meters, and thus the disqualification was justified.
Judgment Excerpts
Though this Writ Petition has been filed seeking various reliefs... the petitioner has restricted the claim in the petition only to the decision of the respondents in holding the petitioner to be technically disqualified for award of the contract in question.
The main condition of the tender document around which the dispute in the present petition revolves is as under:- ... 1.1(a) i) The bidder by himself should have minimum two years experience as on opening date of tender... ii) The Bidder should have executed at least one number of contracts of following nature in last ten years-- For Part-I: Geophysical Survey... In deep water minimum 850 Mtrs. or above.
Procedural History
The petitioner filed Writ Petition No.41 of 2010 before the Bombay High Court challenging the technical disqualification. The court reserved judgment on 29.01.2010 and pronounced it on 18.02.2010.
Acts & Sections
- Constitution of India: Article 226
