The main legal point established in the judgment is the principle of minimal judicial interference in contractual matters involving technical issues, emphasizing the need to uphold tender conditions and requirements.

ORDER :

The petitioner common in both these petitions calls in question the rejection of his technical bids submitted pursuant to notice inviting tenders dated 28-03-2022 and consequently seeks a declaration that his bids are responsive.

2. Heard Sri.Rajendra.M.S., learned counsel for M/s Holla and Holla Associates appearing for petitioner, Sri.S.Sriranga, learned senior counsel appearing for respondent No.1 and Sri.M.Vinod Kumar, learned Additional Government Advocate appearing for respondent No.2.

3.Brief facts that lead the petitioner to this Court in the subject petitions, as borne out from the pleadings, are as follows:-

The petitioner claims to be in the business of repair and distribution of transformers for close to 25 years and further claims that he has a recognized name in the reconditioning and distribution of transformers. The 1st respondent/Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (‘BESCOM’ for short) issued a notice inviting tenders on 28-03-2022 for the work of repair and reconditioning 11 KV class single coil/multi coil conventional and 3, 4, 5 star rated failed distribution transformers of various capacities from 25 to 100 KVA and other allied works of lumpsum percentage on rate contract basis. The petitioner in both these cases submits his bids for Doddaballapura Taluk, Nelamangala Division of BESCOM. The tender was to be a two cover tender -first part would be the technical bid and the second the price bid. The last date for submission of technical bid was 26-04-2022. As observed hereinabove, the petitioner participates in the competitive bidding process finding himself eligible in terms of the notice inviting tenders, as according to him, he was qualified in all the terms and conditions and submits all necessary documents within the time stipulated. EMD of Rs.1,50,995/-was also deposited as required in terms of NIT. The technical bids of the petitioner come to be rejected on 01-10-2022, the same was displayed in the e-procurement portal of BESCOM. The petitioner, on the ground that he was the lowest bidder, submitted a representation seeking BESCOM to furnish the reason for rejection. No reply was received on the said representation of the petitioner. He appears to have come to understand that infrastructure facilities depicted by him in the tender documents were not countersigned by the competent authority i.e., the Executive Engineer of BESCOM. On the ground that they did not bear the signature endorsing the infrastructure, the petitioner’s bid had come to be rejected. It is this rejection that drives the petitioner to this Court in the subject petitions.

4. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner would contend that the bids of the petitioner could not have been rejected as signature part of the document was a curable defect and is only ancillary to the terms and conditions; it is not the primary term or condition that would entail rejection of technical bids altogether. He would submit that only thing that is not found in the documents is attestation of infrastructure by the Executive Engineer.

5. On the other hand, the learned senior counsel Sri S. Sriranga appearing for the 1st respondent/BESCOM would refute the submissions to contend that the petitioner though had submitted everything did not get the infrastructure available with him endorsed by the competent authority. This was the necessity in the tender and without this, technical bid could not have been accepted. The learned senior counsel would submit that most of the tenderers bids who did not have this endorsement have been rejected at the technical bid stage itself, as the lacunae is uniformly applied to deny acceptance of technical bids. He would submit that the petition lacking in merit be dismissed.

6. I have given my anxious consideration to the submissions made by the respective learned counsel and have perused the material on record.

7. Notice inviting tenders is for short term. The conditions stipulated in the bid are depicted in