Point of Law: Fairness cannot be a one-way street. The fairness required of the Financial Corporations cannot be carried to the extent of disabling them from recovering what is due to them. While not insisting upon the borrower to honour the commitments undertaken by him, the Financial Corporation alone cannot be shackled hand and foot in the name of fairness.

JUDGMENT :

J.B.PARDIWALA, J.

1. By this writ application under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the writ applicant, a Company, has prayed for the following reliefs;

“(a) Your Lordship may be pleased to admit and allow this petition;

(b) Your Lordships may be pleased to issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus quashing and setting aside the action of the respondent authority in considering the bid submitted by the respondent No.2 and No.3 as qualified for Tender No.BN6RC21001 issued on 08.01.2021 for work of Hiring of O & M services of Drilling Rig of Cambay for a period of 03 years and Mehsana Asset for a period of 2 years and also consequential decisions taken thereof;

(c) Your Lordships may be pleased to direct the respondent No.1 to hold an inquiry against the respondent No.2 and 3 for conducting a proper enquiry into the work experience certificate/documents submitted by the respondent No.2 and No.3 ascertaining their eligibility;

(d) Pending the admission, hearing and final disposal of this petition, Your Lordship may be pleased to stay the proceedings and to restrain the respondent No.1 from further proceeding with the tender process by considering the bid submitted by the respondent No.2 and No.3 in respect of tender No.BN6RC21001 issued on 08.01.2021 for the work of Hiring of O & M services of Drilling Rig of Cambay for a period of 03 years and Mehsana Asset for a period of 2 years;

(e) Pending the admission, hearing and final disposal of this petition, Your Lordships may be pleased to direct the respondent No.1 to conduct a proper enquiry into the work experience certificate/documents as submitted by the respondent No.2 and No.3 and further be pleased to direct the respondent No.1 to submit the status report of the said enquiry before this Hon’ble Court.

(f) Any other and further relief or reliefs to which this Hon’ble Court deemed fit in the interest of justice.”

2. The facts, giving rise to this writ application, may be summarized as under;

2.1 The writ applicant is a Company incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013 (for short “the Act, 2013”) and is engaged in the business of handling operation and maintenance of Drilling Rigs. It is the case of the writ applicant that it has been providing services to the respondent No.1-Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (for short “the Corporation”) for the past 15 years and has been handling operation and maintenance of Drilling Rigs for the Corporation in various parts of its operation.

2.2 It appears from the materials on record that the Corporation floated a tender No.BN6RC21001 dated 8th January, 2021 for the work of Drilling Rigs of Cambay for a period of three years and Mehsana Asset for a period of two years.

2.3 It is not in dispute that the writ applicant along with the other bidders participated in the said tender proceedings and offered their respective bids.

2.4 The Clause No. B.1.2 of the tender document lays down the eligibility criteria and experience of the bidder.

2.5 Clause B.1.2 reads thus;