ORDER :

SURAJ GOVINDARAJ, J.

1. The Petitioner is before this Court seeking for the following reliefs:

1. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other appropriate Writ, Order or Direction, quashing and setting aside the impugned Award of Contract / Acceptance of Bids dated 04.06.2026, bearing No.NIMH/HSS/PU- 1(DRUGS)2026-27/21 in so far as it pertains to drug code 430-Liq Sodium Hypochlorite Solution 5 % 5ltr - placing the petitioner at L2 and respondent no. 5 at L1 produced as Annexure H.

2. Issue a Writ of Mandamus or any other appropriate Writ, Order or Direction, directing the respondents to re-evaluate the bids for Drug Code 430 on a per-litre basis as mandated by Clause 5.3.2 of the Tender Notification, and to declare the petitioner as the L1 bidder accordingly, and to issue the Rate Contract/work order in favour of the Petitioner for the said drug code 430

3. Award costs of the petition to the petitioner.

4. Pass such other and further orders as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper in the interest of justice, equity and good conscience.

2. Respondent No.1-the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (“NIMHANS”), an Institute of National Importance functioning under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, issued Tender Notification No. NIMH/PU-I(D)/TENDER/RC-I (26-28)/01/2025-26, CPPP Tender ID: 2026_NIMHN_894339 dated 12.02.2026, inviting bids for the supply of various drugs, chemicals, IV fluids and miscellaneous items required for the NIMHANS Hospital for a period of twenty-four months from the date of issuance of the Rate Contract, with effect from 01.04.2026. The tender notification was issued exclusively through the CPPP e-procurement portal. A pre-bid meeting was held on 27.01.2026, during which certain clarifications were issued to prospective bidders. According to the petitioner, it was specifically clarified that, for products with a package size of one litre or more, the rates were required to be quoted on a per-litre basis.

3. In this regard, Sri.Bhargava.D. Bhat., learned counsel for the petitioner relies on and refers to;

3.1. Clause 5.3.2 of the tender document, which is reproduced hereunder for easy reference;

5.3.2 Tenders must submit their quotations item wise i.e., per tablet, litre, capsule, etc. not as per packing size as has been asked appropriately in the tender.

3.2. By relying on Clause 5.3.2, his submission is that the tenderer must submit their quotation item-wise, i.e., per tablet, litre, capsule, etc., and not as per the packing size indicated in the tender. Therefore, his submission is that, as the subject matter of the present writ petition is Liquid Sodium Hypochlorite Solution 5%, any quote had to be per litre only, irrespective of the packing.

3.3. He also relies on Clause 5.3.7, 5.7.1 and 23.2 of the tender document, which are reproduced hereunder for easy reference;

5.3.7. No bidder shall be allowed at any time on any ground whatsoever to claim revision of or modification in the rates quoted by him. Clerical error, typographical error etc. committed by the bidders in the tender forms shall not be considered after opening di the tenders.

5.7.1. The tenderer, will not be allowed to make any alterations/modifications to bids received after the prescribed time period.

23.2. No change/ alteration on plea of clerical or typographical error in rates or other terms in the tender will be permitted under any circumstances.

3.4. Relying upon the aforesaid clauses, it is contended that the tender conditions expressly prohibit any revision, modification or alteration of a bid after its submission, irrespective of whether such request is founded upon a clerical error, typographical error or any other similar ground. According to him, the petitioner quoted a basic price of Rs.144/- with applicable taxes of Rs.25.92/-, aggregating to Rs.169.92 per litre for Liquid Sodium Hypochlorite Solution 5%, and was accordingly declared as the L1 bidder.

3.5. It is submitted that Respondent