The court held that compliance with mandatory tender requirements is essential, and failure to upload critical documents leads to disqualification, affirming strict adherence serves fairness and transparency in public procurement.

ORDER :

NAGESH BHEEMAPAKA, J.

1. Aggrieved by rejection of its technical bid by Respondents 1 to 3 on the ground that petitioner failed to upload the Memorandum of Association (MOA) and Articles of Association (AOA) of one of its Joint Venture constituents, namely M/s Supreme Laundry Services Joint Venture Pvt. Ltd., petitioner is before this Court. Petitioner contends that such rejection is arbitrary, illegal, contrary to the tender conditions, violative of the principles of natural justice and the Constitution, and has resulted in its wrongful exclusion from further stages of tender process. It accordingly, seeks a declaration that disqualification is illegal and a direction to evaluate its financial bid.

2. The case of petitioner is that, it is a duly- constituted Joint Venture formed by entities having longstanding and demonstrated expertise in operating BOOT- based mechanised laundry systems for the Indian Railways across various zones. It asserts that its members possess extensive experience, technical competence and operational capability and have successfully executed similar high-capacity mechanised laundry projects for several years, thereby establishing a proven track record in the field. It is stated, Respondents 2 and 3 – South Central Railways issued Tender Notice dated 15.05.2025 prescribing, inter alia, a list of documents mandated to be uploaded as part of the technical bid. Tender conditions clearly enumerate the documents required at the technical stage, and that the list did not expressly include Memorandum of Association (MOA) and Articles of Association (AOA) of the non-substantial Joint Venture partner.

2.1. Petitioner asserts, it submitted and uploaded all the essential documents required by the tender, including technical capacity documents, experience certificates, financial turnover details, relevant registrations, statutory declarations and all documents expressly mandated. It states that the only documents not uploaded were MOA and AOA of M/s Supreme Laundry Services Joint Venture Pvt. Ltd., a non-substantial JV constituent. Failure to upload MOA and AOA of the said JV constituent occurred solely due to technical difficulties encountered on the GeM portal, such as repeated file-upload errors, slow or unstable internet connectivity, sudden interruptions, and file-size limitations which prevented successful completion of the upload process. It maintains that these issues were beyond its control and not attributable to any deliberate omission or negligence on its part.

2.2. Petitioner argues that omission is non-material, procedural and curable, as the JV constituent is a duly- incorporated company and its MOA and AOA are public documents that can be readily verified by the tendering authority either independently or from petitioner's clarification. It asserts that the tendering authority ought not to have treated such a minor technical lapse as a fatal defect leading to automatic disqualification. It is also stated, immediately upon learning of disqualification on 26.07.2025, it submitted clarification dated 27.07.2025 enclosing MOA and AOA and explaining the circumstances under which the documents could not be uploaded. This prompt submission demonstrates its good faith and bona fide intent to comply fully with the tender requirements.

2.3. Petitioner complains that Respondents 1 to 3 refused to examine the clarification, declined to open or consider the attached documents and mechanically adhered to strict literal compliance without appreciating the circumstances or the substantial compliance already achieved by petitioner. According to p