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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GAUHATI, ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH
MANISH CHOUDHURY, J.
M/s. Dhir Beel Fisherman Co-Operative Society Ltd. – Petitioner
Versus
The State of Assam and Others – Respondents
W.P. (C) Nos. 3913 of 2020, 6903, 8837 of 2019
Decided On : 15-02-2022
Constitution of India,1950 – Article 14 and 226 - Assam Co-operative Societies Act, 2007 - Section 12 [2] - Fishery - Bidding process – Settlement of Fishery - Tender - Fishery was settled earlier for a period of 7 [seven] years at an annual revenue in favour of petitioner in writ petition, W.P.[C] Cooperative Fishery Society Ltd - After expiry of the period of settlement, respondent authorities decided to initiate a fresh competitive bidding process in order to settle Fishery for another period of 7 [seven] years - It was pursuant to the said decision, a Tender came to be published by Deputy Commissioner - By Tender Notice, bids were invited from interested and eligible bidders for settlement of Fishery for period of 7 [seven] years - Minimum annual value of the Fishery was fixed and last date of submission of bids was fixed - In the Tender Notice, terms and conditions of bidding process were mentioned. Clause 4 of Tender Notice mentioned about the documents which were required to be submitted by the bidders along with their bids - Whether terms and conditions of tender notice are complied with or not by bidders.
Finding of the Court: Court is of the considered view that while settling Fishery for a period of 7 [seven] years, tender settling authority has to evaluate the bids of all 7 [seven] participating bidders in terms of provisions of the Assam Fishery Rules, 1953, more particularly, Rule 12 thereof and qua the terms and conditions contained in Tender Notice - It is made clear that while applying its mind for settlement of the Fishery, it should not allow itself to be influenced in any manner by observations made by the tender inviting authority and/or for that matter, Scrutiny Committee constituted by tender inviting authority - While undertaking such exercise for settlement of the Fishery, tender settling authority shall also have to consider issue of validity of registration, as has been raised by petitioner in W.P - It is also made clear that this Court has not made any observation on merits of the bids of any of participating bidders - It is accordingly directed - It is provided that till regular settlement of Fishery is made, petitioner in writ petition, W.P. shall be allowed to run the Fishery - With the observations made and directions given, writ petition, W.Pis partly allowed.
Result: Writ petition, W.Pis accordingly disposed of
JUDGMENT :
MANISH CHOUDHURY, J.
1. All the three writ petitions - W.P. (C) No. 6903/2019, W.P. (C) No. 8837/2019 and W.P. (C) No. 3913/2020 filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India are relatable to the same subject-matter of settlement, that is, Group No. 1 Dhar Brahmaputra Fishery (‘the Fishery’ for short) located in the district of Dhubri.
2. The Fishery was settled earlier for a period of 7 (seven) years from 03.01.2012 to 02.01.2019 at an annual revenue of Rs. 3,42,101/- in favour of the petitioner in the writ petition, W.P. (C) No. 6903/2019 viz. M/s Gauripur Cooperative Fishery Society Ltd. (‘M/s Gauripur Society’ for short). After expiry of the period of settlement, the respondent authorities decided to initiate a fresh competitive bidding process in order to settle the Fishery for another period of 7 (seven) years w.e.f. 2019-2020 to 2025-2026.
3. It was pursuant to the said decision, a Tender Notice dated 17.12.2018 came to be published by the Deputy Commissioner, Dhubri. By the Tender Notice dated 17.12.2018, bids were invited from the interested and eligible bidders for settlement of the Fishery for the period of 7 (seven) years from 2019-2020 to 2025-2026. The minimum annual value of the Fishery was fixed at Rs. 2,28,880/- and the last date of submission of bids was fixed up-to 02-00 p.m. 02.01.2019. In the Tender Notice, the terms and conditions of the bidding process were mentioned. Clause 4 of the Tender Notice mentioned about the documents which were required to be submitted by the bidders along with their bids.
4. After expiry of the time period for submission of the bids for the Fishery, the tender documents were opened. In response to the Tender Notice dated 17.12.2018, 7 (seven) nos. of bidders submitted their bids and the names of the bidders and their respective offered bid values, in descending order, for the period of 7 (seven) years are as under:
| S. No. | Name of the participating bidder society | Bid value |
| 1. | Dhir Beel Fishermen Co-Op. Society Ltd. Chapar | Rs. 3,13,43,949/- |
| 2. | Kachudola FCS Ltd. Kachudoala, Bongaigaon | Rs. 1,74,78,313/- |
| 3. | Dharnad Bramaputra FCS Ltd. Dhubri | Rs. 1,22,50,000/- |
| 4. | Khoragahar Gullihara FCS Ltd. Bilasipara, Dhubri | Rs. 1,19,00,000/- |
| 5. | Manash Padmabari Jingiram FCS Ltd. Lakhipur, Goalpara | Rs. 94,53,500/- |
| 6. | Gauripur Co-Op. Fishery Society Ltd. Gauripur, Dhubri | Rs. 87,53,507/- |
| 7. | M/s Bilasipara Mahakuma FCS Ltd. Bilasipara, Dhubri | Rs. 80,55,000/- |
5. A Scrutiny Committee was constituted by the tender inviting authority, that is, the Deputy Commissioner, Dhubri to examine the tender papers qua the terms and conditions contained in the Tender Notice dated 17.12.2018. The Scrutiny Committee so constituted by the Deputy Commissioner, Dhubri, examined the tender papers submitted by the 7 (seven) nos. of participating bidders on 02.01.2019 and noted its findings in respect of the terms and conditions of the Tender Notice dated 17.12.2018. The Tender Committee had observed that in the Tender Notice, it was specifically mentioned that a bidder had to be from the concerned district. It had referred to a number of decisions passed in some other writ petitions by this Court to observe that a bidder society which was not a resident of the concerned district was not entitled to get consideration and it could not be made eligible in terms of the condition mentioned in the Tender Notice. On the basis of the above observations, the Tender Committee noted that 2 (two) out of the 7 (seven) participating bidder societies were not from the tender inviting district of Dhubri and they were not eligible for settlement of the Fishery. The Tender Committee had made its observations as regards availability of the requisite documents required to be submitted by the bidder in reference to the terms and conditions con
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