JUDGMENT :

MANISH CHOUDHURY, J.

1. The writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India has been instituted by the petitioner to challenge the award of a contract work, “Comprehensive Garbage Disposal from DBWS for 3 [three] years [2021-2024]” [‘the Contract-Work’ for short] made in favour of the respondent no. 3, by the respondent North East Frontier Railway.

2. The factual matrix of the case lies in a narrow compass. The necessary facts can be exposited, in brief, as follows:

The respondent North East Frontier Railway [‘the N.F. Railway’, for short] through its Chief Workshop Manager [CWM], Mechanical Workshop, N.F. Railway, Dibrugarh [the respondent no. 2] published a Notice Inviting Tender [NIT] on 07.10.2021 for the Contract-Work vide e-Tender Notice no. DBWS-NIET-06-2021-22 dated 07.10.2021 inviting open tenders through E-Tendering System from competent firms/contractors. As per the NIT, the approximate cost of the Contract-Work was Rs. 56,07,360/-inclusive of GST @ 18%. The NIT notified that the tenders in response to the NIT, would be accepted up-to 15-00 hours, 29.10.2021 and the tenders would be opened at 15-30 hours, 29.10.2021. The NIT and the Tender Document co