JUDGMENT

1. Respondent 1-NHAI invited bids for four-laning of the Sambalpur-Orissa border stretch, of 88 km, of NH-6, in the State of Orissa. The bidding process envisaged application, by the interested reader, who fulfilled the qualifications stipulated in the Request for Qualification (RFQ), whereafter the NHAI would announce a list of prequalified applicants, who could participate in the bidding process by submitting the Request For Proposal (RFP). The petitioner MSK Projects obtained a copy of the RFQ from NHAI. Thereafter, a Consortium comprising the petitioner and Respondents 3 and 4 submitted an application, as a bidder for the Project. The petitioner was the lead member of the Consortium.

2. Clause 2.2.5 of the RFQ required submission, by the interested reader, of a Power of Attorney (POA), in the following terms:

"2.2.5 The Applicant should submit a Power of Attorney as per the format at Appendix-II, authorising the signatory of the Application to commit the Applicant. In the case of a Consortium, the Members should submit a Power of Attorney in favour of the Lead Member as per the format at Appendix-III."

3. Thus, it was clear that, whether under the RFP or under the RF