JUDGMENT :

1. This case is taken up through video conferencing.

2. The petitioner initially filed the present writ petition for quashing the order as contained in letter No.308 dated 17.02.2020 (Annexure-15 to the writ petition), whereby the contract awarded to it was stayed with further prayer to restrain the respondents from initiating any fresh tender process for empanelment of agencies for supply of Organic Farm Inputs (Bio-Fertilizers/Bio-Pesticides/Soil Conditioners/Plant Growth Enhancers/Other approved Bio-Products (if any) with respect to the order as contained in letter No.106 dated 23.09.2019.

3. During the pendency of the present writ petition, the petitioner has been permitted to amend the same, seeking challenge to the order as contained in letter No.479 dated 10.03.2021 issued by the respondent no.2 to the Director, Horticulture, Jharkhand, Ranchi, whereby the contract awarded and concluded in favour of the petitioner-company in pursuance of inviting applications through Expression of Interest (in short ‘EoI’) dated 12.10.2019 published in newspaper on 16.10.2019 for supply of Organic Farm Inputs was rescinded unilaterally with a direction to undertake/initiate fresh tender process for empanelment of new agency/supplier as per the lowest quoted rate. The petitioner has also prayed for issuance of direction upon the respondents to implement the triennial organic farming certification in terms with final proceeding drawn on the basis of EoI dated 16.10.2019 and the decision as contained in memo no.53 dated 17.01.2020 by allowing it to co-ordinate with the service providers for supply of bio-farm inputs as per its schedule.

4. The factual background of the case, as stated in the writ petition, is that the Organic Farming Authority of Jharkhand (in short ‘OFAJ’) published an EoI on 16.10.2019 in a daily newspaper "Prabhat Khabar" with reference to the government’s sanction letter no.106 dated 23.09.2019, inviting applications for empanelment of manufacturers for supply of Organic Farm Inputs (Bio-Fertilizers/Bio-Pesticides/Soil Conditioner/Plant Growth Enhancers/Other approved Bio-Products (if any). The petitioner-company participated and submitted the required technical and financial documents along with requisite fee as well as earnest money of Rs.5,00,000/- within the stipulated time before the concerned authority as per the said EoI. Upon submission of requisite documents by different bidders, the Chief Executive Officer, OFAJ respondent no.5 held a pre-bid meeting on 17th October, 2019 in which all the bidders who had submitted their bids were called for discussion, wherein the prospects of said scheme and the procedures for finalization of tender process were discussed apprising them the manner in which the tender proposals were to be submitted, moreover the procedures of evaluation of technical bid proposal were also made known to them. It was also clarified that the technical bid would be scrutinized by an evaluation committee and those firms/agencies, who fulfilled the minimum eligibility conditions, would be evaluated on the basis of scoring criteria. In terms with the EoI, a meeting of the tender committee under the Chairmanship of the respondent no.5 was convened on 24.10.2019 for technical evaluation of the proposals received and thereafter the tender committee notified the number of tender proposals (in total 08) received with the authority within the stipulated time and further the reasons for rejection of proposal of one of the bidders, namely, Indore Biotech Input & Research Pvt. Ltd., Indore due to non-submission of E.M.D. and tender fee at the threshold, was also assigned. Further, with respect to the remaining seven tender proposals, the tender committee decided to evaluate and scrutinize the technical documents submitted by the concerned agencies. The tender committee after scrutiny rejected the proposals of four agencies for non-conformity with the terms as stipulated in the tender document. Accordi