Strict compliance with tender conditions is essential, and deviations from the tender conditions cannot be accepted, emphasizing the importance of adhering to the tender conditions without allowing for substantial compliance.

ORDER :

This Writ Petition is filed aggrieved by the action of respondent No.4 in issuing proceedings No. RC No.GMC/IHFMS/2022-23, dated 27.06.2022 awarding the work of providing Integrated Hospital Facility Management Services in Gandhi Medical College, Secunderabad, Hyderabad District, in the State of Telangana (hereinafter referred to as ‘the subject work’) in favour of respondent No.5 as illegal and arbitrary.

2. The facts of the case are that the respondent No.2 herein called for tenders for the ‘subject work’ through tender notice, dated 30.04.2022 and in response thereto the petitioner and respondent No.5 herein and another submitted their bids. After evaluation of the bids, the petitioner herein and respondent No.5 were found to be technically qualified for award of the work and after opening of the price bids, both the petitioner and respondent No.5 were found to have quoted the same price. In view of the same, in terms of tender condition, respondent No.5 herein is declared as successful bidder on the ground that the annual turnover of respondent No.5 is more than the turnover of the petitioner herein. Accordingly, respondent No.4 herein issued the impugned proceedings awarding the subject work to respondent No.5. Aggrieved by such award of work in favour of respondent No.5 herein, the present Writ Petition is filed.

3. Heard Sri A.K. Jayaprakash Rao, learned counsel appearing for the petitioners, learned Government Pleader for Medical, Health and Family Welfare and Sri Swaroop Oorilla, learned counsel appearing for respondent No.5.

4. It is contended by learned counsel for the petitioner that the bids submitted by respondent No.5 herein are not incompliance with the conditions of tender document as respondent No.5 failed to upload the work experience certificate on online e-Procurement Market Place as required under clause 1.1.3 of Section (1) of bid document and any failure to upload the required documents on e-Procurement Market Place will entail in disqualification of such bidders and the bids submitted by respondent No.5 ought not have been declared as qualified technically by the respondents. It is further contended that though the bid submitted by respondent No.5 is not complying with the requirements of the tender documents, the respondents have erroneously and for extraneous considerations, awarded the work in favour of respondent No.5 detrimental to the interest of the petitioner herein. It is also further contended that in terms of clause 1.1.3 read with 1.1.11, no offline submission of documents would be considered and the bids that are submitted devoid of proper documents or adequate information are liable to be rejected. According to learned counsel for the petitioner in the instance case the bid of respondent No.5 though was defective the same was not in compliance with the tender conditions, the respondent No.2 considered it erroneously and illegally.

5. Learned Government Pleader for Medical and Health submitted that respondent No.5 has submitted bid document by uploading the same on online e-Procurement Market Place except the work experience certificate and that the said work experience certificate was submitted by respondent No.5 offline. It is further submitted that having taken note of the fact that respondent No.5 failed to upload the experience certificate on online and after having received the same offline, respondent Nos.2 and 4 stated to have submitted a detailed report before respondent No.3 herein and as per the decision of respondent No.3 herein, the bid of respondent No.5 was considered and accordingly, the work was awarded in favour of respondent No.5. It is further submitted by learned Government Pleader that in view of the interim order passed by this Court on 12.09.2022, the previous contractor was asked to undertake to provide the services at Gandhi Medical College, Secunderabad ti