The decision underscores the importance of compliance with tender submission deadlines and proper procedural adherence in procurement processes, emphasizing the responsibility of bidders to ensure their submissions are complete before deadlines.

ORDER :

B. M. SHYAM PRASAD, J.

The Minor Irrigation and Ground Water Development Department, Mysuru [the Department] has, on 12.09.2024, floated Tenders in Nos.MI-24-25/L1/Work Indent/2515 and MI-24-25/L1/Work Indent/2516 for construction of the facilities for Lift Irrigation near Devanuru Village, Nanjangud Taluk and Kesthuru Koppalu, K R Nagara Taluk as a Turnkey Project. The Department has issued a Corrigendum on 25.09.2024 [the Corrigendum] extending the last date for submission of bids and modifying the eligibility criteria/ altering the scope of work. The petitioner, who had offered bids [Bids] in response, has challenged the Corrigendum in the writ petitions in W.P.Nos.27111/2024 and 27103/2024.

2. This Court has dismissed these petitions on 22.04.2025, and a day after i.e. on 24.04.2025 the petitioner has filed the present two petitions contending that though his revised Bids [submitted on 27.09.2024] are received, his uploads on 30.09.2024 for certain corrections in the Bids have failed. The petitioner contends that the respondents did not disclose that his Bids had failed or was otherwise outside the purview of evaluation. The petitioner has now challenged:

[i] The publication on the Karnataka Public Procurement Portal [the Portal] of information on successful submissions- the bids that are Received [Annexure-A], and

[ii] The publication on the Portal of the time timelines, which includes the timelines that would be consequent to the Corrigendum dated 25.09.2024 [Annexure B] [The petitioner has described Annexure B as “Tender Enquiry Document"].

This Court, on 26.04.2025, considering the petitioner’s request for an interim order, has stipulated that the further proceedings in the tender shall remain stayed, and this interim order has been continued from time to time.

3. A précis of facts

3.1 The second respondent [the Executive Engineer, Minor Irrigation and Ground Water Development Division, Mysuru] has floated tenders for construction of the facilities for lift irrigation on 12.09.2024. The second respondent has stipulated 17.09.2024 for the pre-bid meeting and 24.09.2024 as the last date for submission of queries on the tender document; and further, the second respondent has stipulated 25.09.2024 and 27.09.2024 as the last dates for submission of bids and opening of the Technical Bids. The petitioner, a Grade–I Contractor, has participated in the Pre-Bid Meeting.

3.2 The petitioner has uploaded his Bids on 25.09.2024. The second respondent vide the order dated 21.09.2024 has extended the timelines for submission of bids and for opening of technical bids/financial bids, and the second respondent has subsequently issued the Corrigendum extending the timelines. The details of these changes are:

In issuing this corrigendum, the second respondent has also changed the scope of work and eligibility criteria, but these aspects are decided in the earlier petitions in WP Nos. 27111/2024 and 27103/2024 and are not in issue in these petitions.

The decision in the earlier writ petitions in WP Nos. 27111/2024 and 27103/2024

3.3 The petitioner has challenged the Corrigendum issued to extend the time for submission of the bids with the consequential additional timelines for opening of technical/financial bids with certain alterations on scope of work and eligibility criteria. However, this Court, while answering questions, [This Court has also considered the petitioner’s grievance with the time allowed for submissions based on Rule 17 of the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement Rules, 2000.]such as whether issuing the Corrigendum has vitiated the entire tender process, has opined that [a] the issuance of Corrigendum modifying the terms of the tender notifications has