ORDER :

1. By way of instant petition, petitioner has assailed the award of work (transportation of bulk white petroleum products), by the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (for short ‘HPCL’) in favour of respondent No. 4, M/s. Sai Roadways (for short ‘Sai Roadways’) in pursuance to tender notice dated 23.07.2018.

2. On 23.07.2018, HPCL invited offers, under the two-bid system, for road transportation of bulk white petroleum products ex-Nalagarh for the period 1.10.2018 to 30.09.2023. Estimated tank trucks requirement was as under:

3. Due date for submission of bids was 18.08.2018. Technical and financial bids were to be evaluated on 22.09.2018 and 15.10.2018 respectively.

4. As per tender document, the transporters could apply under three categories. First, those who had tank trucks in their physical possession. Second, those who were ready to offer tank trucks with temporary registration and third, those who belonged to SC/ST categories could make offers with booking slips only. The second category of transporters, as noticed above, could offer tank trucks with 18 KL and above capacity only.

5. On 09.08.2018, Sai Roadways submitted its bid and offered total 36 numbers of tank trucks, out of which, three chassis were claimed to be with it with temporary registrations. HPCL accepted the bid of Sai Roadways for 36 numbers offered tank trucks and letter of acceptance (LOA) was issued on 17.12.2018. A formal agreement was signed between HPCL and Sai Roadways on 01.01.2019.

6. As per allegations of petitioner, Sai Roadways violated tender conditions by submitting false information and thereby misrepresented to the HPCL its capacity for the purposes of evaluation. Two out of three tank trucks of more than 18 KL capacity bearing chassis numbers Bj2586 and Bj2579, offered by the Sai Roadways, with temporary registration numbers, were falsely represented to have been purchased from M/s. Yashoda Motors, Patiala (Punjab) vide tax invoices dated 09.08.2018, whereas, these two chassis with No. BJ-2586 and BJ-2579 were sold by M/s. Yashoda Motors to Shri Rajendra Singh resident of Jamnagar, Gujarat and Shri Jagir Singh of Punjab in the first instance. The chassis purchased by Shri Rajinder Singh was temporarily registered with Registering and Licensing Authority, Jamnagar, Gujarat on 02.11.2018 Vide No. GJ-10(T)X-8413 and was further sold on 08.02.2019, by said Shri Rajinder Singh to Sh. Shekhar Chander one of the partners of Sai Roadways. Similarly, Chassis No. BJ-2586 was got registered by Shri Jagir Singh with Registering and Licensing Authority, Patiala (Punjab) under Registration No. PB-11CQ-0415. It was on 29.01.2019 that this chassis was further sold by Shri Jagir Singh in favour of above mentioned, Shekhar Chander.

7. On the above allegations, petitioner maintains that on 09.08.2018, when Sai Roadways uploaded its bid, it was not the owner of, above noticed, two chassis of tank trucks above 18 KL capacity. Even on the date of issuance of LOA i.e. 17.12.2018 and also on the date of signing of agreement dated 01.01.2019, Sai Roadways was neither having ownership of chassis bearing No. BJ-2579 and BJ-2586 nor their temporary registrations. The specific allegation of petitioner is that Sai Roadways submitted false and forged documents in respect of these two chassis for tank trucks above 18KL capacity with HPCL and by fraudulent means succeeded in securing the contract for 36 tank trucks. According to petitioner, Sai Roadways by unfair means has been able to influence the evaluation process in its favour, in which officers of HPCL, especially respondent No. 3 was privy.

8. Basing its claim on the above n