A public authority's decision to cancel a tender must be reasoned and not arbitrary; failure to provide justifications exposes such decisions to judicial scrutiny.

JUDGMENT

1. The present petition has been filed by the petitioner seeking substantially the following reliefs:

"a. Issue a writ of mandamus and/or certiorari and/or any other appropriate writ/order/direction in the nature thereof, quashing the decision of Respondent taken on 04.06.2021 to cancel the tender pertaining to the Project and all acts/actions taken by the Respondent in furtherance thereto and also restrain the Respondent from re-tendering/inviting fresh bids and/or take any further steps/actions in relation to the Project in question against the Petitioner:

b. Issue a writ of mandamus and/or any other appropriate writ/order/direction in the nature thereof directing the Respondent to award the work contract in relation to the Project to the Petitioner in pursuance to the evaluation of Petitioner's bid on 10.09.2020....."

2. The petitioner is aggrieved by cancellation of tender pertaining to Rehabilitation of Existing 1100-1200 MM DIA Sewer Line along Ashoka Road from Nirwachan Sadan to C-Hexagon (hereinafter called the "Project") which, according to the petitioner, has been arbitrarily, whimsically and mala fidely cancelled.

3. Briefly stating the facts giving rise to the filing of the present petition are as under:

4. The petitioner is a provider of trenchless technology- Cured in Placed Pipeline, ("CIPP"). The petitioner caters to sewer, water and industrial pipeline rehabilitation needs with long term, minimally disruptive solutions that are affordable. As per the petitioner, the technology developed by the petitioner, allows its customers to avoid the extraordinary expense and extreme disruption that can result from traditional "dig and replace" methods. The petitioner is working with organisations like Delhi Jal Board, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam and Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board.

5. On 20.08.2020, the Sewage Maintenance Division, Civil Engineering department of the respondent NDMC issued the NIT inviting bids from "Specialised Agencies" in the field of rehabilitation of old sewer lines by structural lining method.

6. As per the NIT, the estimated cost of the project was Rs.16,61,35,617/- with the completion time of 6 months. Three bidders, including the petitioner, participated in the tender process, and as per the minutes of Technical Evaluation Sub-Committee held on 08.09.2020, post-technical evaluation, only 2 bidders, namely, the petitioner and Gypsum Structural India Pvt. Ltd. were found eligible and qualified for the next level, i.e. financial bid comparison. The bid of the third bidder, namely, Onsite India Pvt. Ltd. (Onsite), was disqualified by the respondent as, on scrutiny of the EMD documents uploaded by Onsite, it was found that the entire EMD was deposited by Onsite in the shape of Bank Guarantee, which was in breach/noncompliance of technical qualifications.

7. On the recommendation of the Technical Evaluation Sub-Committee of the respondent, financial bids were opened on 10.09.2020 and the petitioner emerged as the lowest bidder (L-1). The petitioner, after being declared as the successful bidder, was waiting for the issuance of the work order to commence rehabilitation work. However, on 04.01.2021 the Sewage Maintenance Division (Civil Engineering Department) of the respondent issued a fresh notice inviting tenders, calling for fresh bids in relation to the same project with identical scope of work, and terms and conditions.

8. In these circumstances, the petitioner, being materially aggrieved by the conduct of the respondent, filed WP(C) 509/2021 on 13.01.2021 seeking the following reliefs:

"a. Issuance of writ of mandamus and/or certiorari and/or any other appropriate writ/order/direction in the nature thereof quashing the impugned notice dated 04.01.2021 issued by the Respondent in relation to the Project and all acts/actions taken by the Respondent in furtherance thereto;

b. Issuance of writ of mandamus and/or any other a