JUDGMENT :

DEVENDRA KUMAR UPADHYAYA, C.J.

1. These proceedings, instituted under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, seek to challenge the decision of respondent no. 1-the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra Limited [CIDCO] (hereinafter referred to as “the respondent-Corporation”) whereby the bid submitted by the petitioner-firm in respect of plot no. 8, Sector 23, Node CBD Belapur has not been accepted and the said plot has been cancelled from Scheme No. MM/SCH-30/2022-23 and it has further been ordered that the Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) paid by the petitioner-firm be refunded. The said decision was communicated to the petitioner by means of the letter dated 25th November 2022.

2. The facts, which are essential for appropriate adjudication of the issues involved in this petition, need to be noted. The respondent-Corporation issued an advertisement inviting applications through E-tender and E-auction for lease of plots for residential-cum-commercial and star hotel use at various nodes of Navi Mumbai. The advertisement, apart from the details of the plots to be leased, also mentioned the base rate per square meter against each plot along with the area of