Public safety standards take precedence in utility contracts; deviations from established safety specifications must be justified with adequate reasoning.

JUDGMENT

SHAJI P. CHALY, J.

The petitioners, who are claiming to be, active social workers and working for the benefit of the public at large through their respective field of work, have filed this Public Interest Litigation seeking a writ of certiorari to quash Exhibit P2 tender notification issued by the Kerala State Electricity Board Ltd. (hereinafter called 'K.S.E.B Ltd.'), in so far as the technical specification required by the KSEB for the manufacture and supply of electric poles of 8 meter having a working load of only 140 kgs., overlooking its decisions taken in public interest to purchase 8m poles with 200 Kgs. working load due to safety reasons.

2. The 1st petitioner is a former journalist and presently working as Project Coordinator, National Centre for Biological Science, Bangalore. Petitioner No. 2 is the Vice President of Indian National Congress in Ambalathara Mandalam and is an active social worker working from the Puthenpalli ward, Trivandrum. The 3rd petitioner is a social activist mainly concentrating his social works in and around Palakkad District.

3. The learned counsel for the petitioners submitted that the petitioners have filed this writ petition with the objective of safeguarding the lives of the people, as they had faced with dreadful effects of natural calamities and had worked very hard for the people of their respective localities and also in their neighboring districts when State faced tough times during heavy rainfalls, heavy winds, the unexpected floods and landslides .

4. The respondent K.S.E.B Ltd. has invited competitive bids from suppliers for the manufacture and supply of 8m and 9m PSC Poles for various electrical circles under the Southern, Central, Northern and North Malabar Regions for a period of 2 years. As per the tender document, technical particulars required for an 8m Electric Pole is provided as 140 kgs. working load; whereas the working load prescribed for a 9 metre pole is 200 kgs. It is submitted that the specification as provided under Ext P2 tender notification is against the particulars provided by the Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd. as well as the orders passed by the KSEB Ltd. to have 8m PSC poles with 200 kgs working load, which is the prime contention advanced in the writ petition.

5. Total contract is for an amount of around Rs. 254 crores. It is submitted that the present tender notification jeopardizes the safety of lives of people of Kerala, because as per the report of the Chief Safety Commissioner of KSEB, accidents due to the breakage of poles is increasing at an alarming rate in the State. There were reports from the field officers that due to heavy wind and rain and falling of trees, a huge number of poles were broken. It is further submitted that the matter requires immediate and urgent attention of the Court, since if the works are awarded to the contractors at the lower specification of 8m-140 kgs, it will be highly detrimental to the public interest considering the fact of unprecedented floods and unexpected landslides accompanied by heavy rainfall and heavy winds which has been recurring in the State for past two years, and that the representations and requests submitted in that regard have fallen on deaf ears. In the above factual background, the petitioners have filed this writ petition raising the following points:

1. Ext P3 Rural Electrification Corporation of India Ltd. has provided that for an overall length of electric pole of 8 m, a working load of 200 kgs. specification is required.

2. As per the report of the Chief Safety Commissioner of KSEB, accidents due to the breakage of poles is increasing at an alarming rate in the State.

3. All the other States in India, except the State of Kerala, are following revised specifications while installing the 8m pole. In Kerala, KSEB is still following the 140 Kgs workload, which is extremely dangerous to the lives of the People.

3. As per Ext. P4 KSEB order, the Directors resolved to invite next tender for th