ORDER :

[RAJESH SHANKAR, J.]

1. The present writ petition has been preferred for quashing show cause notice as contained in Ref. No. BCCL/CMC/Tptn43/Show_Cause/BKB/2021/549 dated 03.12.2021 (Annexure-13 to the writ petition) issued by the respondent no. 2-the General Manager (Contract Management Cell), Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) whereby the petitioner has been called upon to file show cause reply as to why appropriate action should not be taken against it including termination of the contract, forfeiture of all dues including performance security deposit and it be not banned for a minimum period of two years from being eligible to submit bids in future tenders of Coal India Limited (CIL) and its subsidiaries. Further prayer has been made for quashing and setting aside the order as contained in Ref. No. BCCL/CMC/Tptn43/Debar/BKB/2022/137 dated 24.03.2022 passed by the respondent no. 2 whereby the petitioner has been debarred from participating in future bids in all tenders of BCCL, in individual capacity or as a joint venture, for a period of 2 years from the date of issuance of this order.

2. Mr. Sumeet Gadodia, learned counsel for the petitioner, while explaining the factual background of the case submits that the respondent-BCCL published e-Notice Inviting Tender being NIT No. BCCL/CMC/F-e-NIT/Coal/Tptn43/Bastacolla/2021/182 dated 29.05.2021 from eligible bidders pertaining to the work of ‘Long Term Coal Transportation including crushing of coal from different sources of Bastacolla Area, BCCL to BNR Siding BCCL including allied jobs.’ Altogether 17 bidders including the petitioner and one M/s. Variant Commercial Pvt. Ltd. submitted their bids. The petitioner, vide e-mail dated 12.10.2021, was informed by the respondent-BCCL that its bid was rejected during technical evaluation by the duly constituted committee on the ground of alleged act of submitting false declaration in Annexure-N at the time of submission of bid and thus it violated clause-4 (one bid per bidder) of the ‘Instructions to Bidders’. The respondent-BCCL uploaded the ‘Tender Summary Report’ and ‘Bid List Details’ on 13.10.2021 stating that the bid of the petitioner was rejected as per the recommendation of the competent authority due to violation of Clause-4 of the ‘Instructions to Bidders’ i.e., it had submitted a false declaration in Annexure-N at the time of submission of bid. The respondent-BCCL opened the price bid on 13.10.2021 and one MJM-RSSG-DS(JV) was declared as the Lowest Bidder (LB-1). The petitioner filed a writ petition being W.P.(C) No. 4427 of 2021 for quashing/setting aside the decision of the Respondent-BCCL disqualifying its technical bid pertaining to e-Tender Notice dated 29.05.2021 which was communicated to it through e-mail dated 12.10.2021 and the said writ petition is still pending. During pendency of the said writ petition, the petitioner was served a show cause notice as contained in Ref. No. BCCL/CMC/Tptn43/Show-Cause/BKB/2021/549 dated 03.12.2021, whereby it was directed to show cause as to why its all dues including performance security deposit be not forfeited and it be not banned for a period of minimum two years from being eligible to submit bids in future tenders of Coal India Limited and its subsidiaries. The petitioner filed preliminary reply to the said show cause notice on 14.12.2021 stating that it had already filed a writ petition being W.P.(C) No. 4427 of 2021 and the issues involved in the said writ petition were directly overlapping with the issues for which the show cause notice dated 03.12.2021 was issued to it and thus it was requested that the said show cause notice may be kept in abeyance. The petitioner also filed interlocutory application in W.P.(C) No. 4427 of 2021 praying inter alia to stay the show cause notice dated 03.12.2021. The said writ petition was taken up for consideration on 23.12.2021 wherein submission on behalf of the petitioner was recorded that it, inadvertently, did not challenge the imp