JUDGMENT :

K. Jayachandra Reddy, J.

1. By our order dated 14th January, 1993 (reported in AIR 1994 Supreme Court 980) while disposing of these special leave petitions we gave our conclusions and we proposed to deliver the detailed judgment at a later stage giving all the reasons in support of those conclusions. We hereby deliver the detailed judgment.

2. In our earlier order we stated the relevant facts and the issues involved in a concised form. However, we think it appropriate and necessary to refer to some of them for a better appreciation of the reasons in their proper perspective.

3. Every year the Railway Board enters into contracts with the manufacturers for the supply of cast steel bogies which are used in turn for building the wagons. Cast steel bogies come under a specialised item procured by the Railways from the established sources of proven ability. There are 12 suppliers in the field who have been regularly supplying these items. Two new firms Simplex and Beekay also entered the field. Among them admittedly M/s. H.D.C., Mukand and Bharatiya are bigger manufacturers having capacity to manufacture larger quantities. On 25-10-91 a limited tender notice for procurement of 19