Compliance with tender document requirements, including transportation experience, is crucial and cannot be overlooked based solely on lower financial bid rates.

JUDGMENT

A.S. Chandurkar, J. - In view of notice of final disposal, issued earlier, we have heard the learned counsel for the parties by issuing RULE and making it returnable forthwith.

2. The petitioner is aggrieved by the communication dated 12.08.2021 by which it has been disqualified as being ineligible for further participation in the tender process initiated by the respondent no. 1. On 19.05.2021 the respondent no. 1 issued a tender notice in the matter of transport of food-grains for public distribution for a period of three years. The request for proposal for appointment of transporters to transport food-grains and other essentials to Fair Price Shops was issued on 21.05.2021. As per the schedule, interested bidders were required to submit their documents by 5.30 p.m. on 11.06.2021. The work in question was to be undertaken in accordance with the Government Resolution dated 15.01.2021 which laid down various guidelines in that regard. After scrutiny of the bids, on 30.07.2021 the respondent no. 1 called upon the petitioner to remove certain defects that were found in the documents furnished by the petitioner. The same was to be done by 06.08.2021. The petitioner on 06.08.2021 removed those deficiencies by furnishing various documents in that regard. After scrutiny the petitioner was informed on 12.08.2021 that it was not qualified to participate in the tender process for the reason that the requisite experience of work as prescribed in the tender notice was not satisfied by the petitioner. Being aggrieved, the petitioner has challenged the aforesaid communication.

3. Shri R.S. Parsodkar, learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the technical bid of the petitioner has been rejected by the respondent no. 1 despite the fact that the petitioner duly satisfied the requirements of Clauses QC 6 and QC 9 of the Tender Document as well as the requirement prescribed by Clauses 5.1 and 5.2 of Government Resolution dated 15.01.2021. Referring to the judgment dated 28.06.2021 in Writ Petition No. 750 of 2021 [Prithviraj Enterprises Versus State of Maharashtra & Another] as well as the clarification issued by the State Government that was considered therein, it was submitted that a tenderer having experience of transportation of the first phase of Clause QC 9 was sufficient and it was not necessary to have experience of the second phase as stipulated. Inviting attention to the District-Sheet pertaining to Gondia district it was submitted that as per Clauses 11 and 11.1 thereof, the requisite experience in transportation of food-grains as required was 70793 Metric Tonnes for each phase. As per the experience certificates issued by the Competent Authority dated 15.04.2021 and 20.04.2021, it was clear that the petitioner had sufficient experience which exceeded the minimum experience prescribed in the request for proposal document as well as the District-Sheet. Despite submitting these experience certificates the respondent no. 1 on 30.07.2021 issued a communication seeking to point out certain defects in the bid submitted by the petitioner. One of the queries made was that the transportation undertaken with regard to the second phase was on a lower side and a clarification in that regard was sought. The petitioner on 06.08.2021 clearly stated that as per the judgment of this Court in Writ Petition No. 750 of 2021 it was sufficient to have experience of the first phase in the matter of transportation. Despite that the respondent no. 1 in an illegal and arbitrary manner proceeded to reject the technical bid of the petitioner on the ground that the experience in transportation as required in the district was insufficient insofar as the petitioner was concerned. He submitted that though the State Government had clarified that the requisite experience gained from the transportation of the food-grains in the first phase was sufficient, the respondent no. 1 had taken into consideration the experience required for both the phases. This