Rejection of technical bid for outlets at Jammu Airport
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 16: Division Bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Moksha Khajuria Kazmi has dismissed the appeal challenging the judgment and order of the writ court whereby the court declined to interfere with the tendering process in granting contract for maintaining and managing the food and beverage outlets at Civil Airport Jammu.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) had invited tenders/bids for maintaining and managing the food and beverages outlet at the Civil Airport of Jammu. Accordingly, Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued on 13.07.2021 involving a two-tier system consisting of a technical and financial bid.
The petitioner-appellant contended that according to the eligibility conditions, he fulfilled all the technical eligibility criteria and that his technical bid could not have been rejected on the ground of ineligibility so as to award the contract to private respondent. The petitioner was providing in-flight catering services since 01.02.2016 to 31.01.2018 and since 01.02.2018, the same agreement has been extended till 09.02.2023 on the same terms and conditions.
However, his technical bid was rejected on the ground that in the second year his turnover was much less than the minimum provided under the eligibility condition.
It was submitted on behalf of petitioner-appellant that in the year 2020-21 the business of the petitioner was low on the account of COVID-19 situation and, as such, some latitude in this regard ought to have been given as the in-flight kitchen had remained un-operational for a long time.
The Single Judge had observed that COVID-19 pandemic was a worldwide phenomenon and it has affected one and all and, if the petitioner is entitled to any grace in this regard, similar benefit has to be extended to all concerned which would not be in the fitness of things.
After hearing Senior Advocate Sunil Sethi with Advocate Navyug Sethi for the petitioner-appellant and Advocates Inderjeet Gupta and Yatin Mahajan for Airport Authority of India, the DB observed, “it is fairly well settled that award of a contract is essentially a commercial transaction and the terms on which tenders are invited are not open to judicial scrutiny unless when they are found to be tailor made to benefit any particular person or tenderer”.
“It has further been laid down that the modern trend points to judicial restraint in such administrative action; the court does not sit as a court of appeal but merely reviews the manner in which the decision is taken; the court does not have the expertise to correct the administrative decision; and, if such judicial review is permitted, it would be substituting court’s decision without necessary expertise, which may be fallible and the Government must have freedom of contract subject to fair play and non-application of arbitrariness”, the DB said.
While referring the Supreme Court verdict in M/s N G Projects Limited Vversus M/s Vinod Kumar Jain and others, the DB said, “in view of the facts and circumstances and the principle of law enunciated by the Apex Court, we are of the opinion that Single Judge has not committed any error of law in refusing to exercise its discretionary jurisdiction so as to dismiss the writ petition”.
Accordingly, the DB dismissed the appeal.
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