IMPORTANT POINT
When the work is 60 per cent complete, Court should be slow to interfere as retendering would delay the project.
Court should not interfere in matters of fight between two business competitors.

ORDER :

1. Leave granted.

2. The appeals have been preferred by Chhattisgarh State Industrial Development Corporation Ltd. (in short, 'the CSIDC') and M/s. Raipur Construction Pvt. Ltd. being aggrieved by the judgment and order dated 14.02.2007 passed by the High Court of Chhattisgarh in Writ Petition (C) No.1053 of 2016 thereby allowing the same and quashing the contract given to M/s. Raipur Construction Pvt. Ltd. by the CSIDC with respect to the work of “upgradation of infrastructure i.e. roads, drainage system and water supply in Sirgitti under Modified Industrial Infrastructure Up-gradation Scheme (MIIUS) at Sirgitti, Bilaspur.”

3. Tender was floated by the CSIDC on 3.11.2015 for the aforesaid work within the stipulated time period of 18 months and tenders were invited online, to be submitted by 12.01.2016.

4. A writ petition bearing WP(C) No.227 of 2016, was filed challenging the notice inviting tenders issued by the CSIDC and the same was dismissed vide order dated 2.2.2016 by the High Court of Chhattisgarh, Bilaspur. The online bids were submitted. The CSIDC opened the tenders for determining whether the bidders satisfied the pre-qualification criteria. Based upon the information supplied by the bidders, the CSIDC prepared charts of technical evaluation documents in the form of Annexures 'A' 'B' 'C' and 'D' which were signed by the Chief Executive Engineer and placed before the Tender Evaluation Committee in its meeting held on 03.03.2016. The CSIDC filed a Technical Evaluation Sheet as Annexures R-4/3 and 5/3 which was placed before the Technical Evaluation Committee whereas the petitioner in the High Court i.e. M/s. Amar Infrastructure Ltd. filed the document “Annexure P-4” as technical evaluation document.

5. It is pertinent to mention here that the documents of technical evaluation filed by CSIDC were signed by the Executive Engineer and the document filed by M/s. Amar Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. as Annexure P-4 does not bear signatures of any official.

6. On 3.3.2016, Tender Evaluation Committee considered the matter and had drawn the minutes which is signed by Mr. S. Rajgire, Executive Engineer Division-IV, Mr. G.V.S.P. Rao, Deputy Manager (Accounts) and Mr. Abdul Shakil, Chief Engineer. Two bidders namely; M/s. Arcons Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd., Chhindwara and M/s. Raipur Construction Pvt. Ltd. were found qualified. It has been opined by the Evaluation Committee that they fulfill all the requisite qualifications. Hence, it was resolved unanimously to open the financial bids of the aforesaid two bidders. The financial bids were ultimately opened on 5.3.2016. The bid submitted by M/s. Raipur Construction Pvt. Ltd. was ranked as L-1 as compared to that of M/s. Arcons Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. Chhindwara whose bid was ranked as L-2. Ultimately the bid L-1 of M/s. Raipur Construction Pvt. Ltd. had been accepted on 8.7.2016 and work order had been issued by the CSIDC to M/s. Raipur Construction Pvt. Ltd.

7. The petitioner/respondent herein, namely, M/s. Amar Infrastructure Ltd. was disqualified on the ground that its construction experience was not found as per the requisite criteria indicated in experience certificate, quantity of DLC (M-10) i.e. 3194 cum submitted under the key activities of construction experience of requisite quantity of work done was not in accordance with the nomenclature of PWD SOR. In the nomenclature of DLC in SOR there was no M-20 type of concrete, as such the amount of DLC as presented in the certificate had been rejected.

8. It is pertinent to mention that Writ Petition No.664 of 2016 was filed before the High Court of Chhatisgarh at Bilaspur by M/s. B.B. Verma, who was also one of the unsuccessful bidders, against the CSIDC and others. In the said writ petition, the CSIDC had filed its reply dated 14.3.2016 and had submitted the document dated 3.3.2016 i.e. the chart containing technical evaluatio