S.J. Vazifdar, J.

1. Rule. Rule is made returnable forthwith and heard finally.

2. Respondent No.1 is a public sector undertaking engaged in power generation and supply of electricity in the State of Maharashtra. Respondent No.2 is Adani Enterprises Limited. The petitioner and respondent No.2 are competitive bidders.

3. The interpretation of clause 20(c) of the tender documents falls for consideration. It provides that the offers would be evaluated considering, inter-alia, the “Exchange rate as per RBI reference rate indicative on date of opening of bid” (emphasis supplied).

Respondent No.1 by the decision impugned in this petition considered the date of opening of the price bid as the date of opening of the bid for the purpose of clause 20(c) of the General Terms and Conditions. The petitioner, however, contended that the relevant date for the purpose of clause 20(c) ought to be the date of opening the techno-commercial bid i.e. 16th May, 2013. If 16th May, 2013, is considered to be the correct date, the petitioner's bid would be the lowest, whereas if 23rd May, 2013, is taken to be the correct date, the second respondent's bid would be the lowest.

We have accepted