ORDER :

Kunuru Lakshman, J.

1. The present interlocutory application is filed seeking stay of all further proceedings pursuant to the Tender Notification e-Procurement NIT No. SE/TSEWIDC/MT/696/2022-23, dated 22.09.2022, pending disposal of the main writ petition.

2. Heard Mr. S. Ashok Anand Kumar, learned Senior Counsel representing Mr. L. Aravind Reddy, learned counsel for the petitioners and Mr. Andepally Sanjeev Kumar, learned Special Government Pleader attached to the office of learned Additional Advocate General appearing on behalf of the respondents.

3. Respondent No. 2 issued a tender notification dated 22.09.2022 for procurement of dual desks that were to be supplied to identified Government/Local body schools as part of 'Maria Ooru - Mana Badi' Scheme. Under the said tender notification/document, any Original Equipment Manufacturer (hereinafter referred to as 'OEM') in its individual capacity or by entering into a Joint Venture (hereinafter referred to as 'JV') Agreement with a non-manufacturer can participate in the tender and submit their bids. Petitioner No. 1 in the capacity of OEM entered into a JV agreement with M/s. Kendriya Bhandar and participated in the said tender. Similarly, petitioner No. 2 being the OEM entered into a JV agreement with M/s. Mafatlal Industries Ltd.

4. As per the tender document, the bids were to be filed online through the e-portal and the last date of bid submission was 01.10.2022 at 3:00 PM. The technical bids were to be opened on the same day at 4:00 PM. The proposed date to open the financial bid was 12.10.2022.

5. The technical bid was opened as per the schedule of 01.10.2022. However, the financial bid was opened on 04.10.2022. The petitioners were disqualified from the tender process on the ground of conflict of interest. Therefore, the present writ petition is filed seeking a declaration against the respondent authorities that the disqualification of the petitioners on the ground of conflict of interest as arbitrary, illegal and violative of Articles - 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India and for a consequential direction to re-consider the technical bid of the petitioners.

6. Contentions of the Petitioners:

i) Petitioner No. 1 and Petitioner No. 2 are separate legal entities having separate operational organizational and operational setups. Only one person is a common Director in both the petitioner companies who is not involved in the decision-making process. Therefore, there is no conflict of interest between the petitioners and their non-manufacturer partners in the Joint Venture.

ii) No opportunity of hearing was granted to the petitioners before the disqualification on the ground of conflict of interest.

iii) Against the rejection of the present petitioners' bid by the same respondent authorities in a previous tender NIT No. SE/TSEWIDC/NIT/43, W.P. No. 27987 of 2022 was filed by the petitioners. This Court gave a specific finding in its interim order dated 06.07.2022 in the said writ petition that the petitioners are, prima facie, eligible to participate in the bid. The present tender is also issued by the same respondents; therefore, they cannot contend that the petitioners are not eligible.

iv) The respondents having disqualified the petitioners on technical ground of conflict of interest could not have opened their financial bid prematurely.

v) The date of opening of financial bid was illegally preponed in breach of the tender document.

vi) The tender process is unfair and lacks transparency.

7. Contentions of the respondents:

i) Based on the written instructions, it was contended on behalf of the respondents that the petitioners have one Mr. Venugopal Bhaskaran as a common Director. Therefore, the same amounts conflict of interest as having common members will come under the ambit of manipulation of fair competition. Reliance was placed on Section - 4 (c) of the tender document to contend that having a common Director amounts to conflict of interest and constitutes an undesira