- (1.) Leave granted in all the three sets of petitions.
(2.) Ulhasngar Municipal Corporation issued a Notice inviting tenders for appointment of agents for collection of Octroi subject to the terms and conditions set forth therein fixing 4 p.m. on March 23, 2000 to be the time of submission of the tender and fixing 5 p.m. on the same day for opening of the tenders. On March 21, 2000 M/s. Millenium Infrastructure (P) Ltd. filed a Writ Petition No. 1456 of 2000 in the High Court at Mumbai challenging the imposition of two conditions contained in Clauses 6(a) and 6(b) of the Tender Booklet as unconstitutional and seeking deletion of these two conditions as pre-requisite for its participation in the tender. On March 21, 2000, a Division Bench of the High Court and having heard the parties adjourned the matter till March 24, 2000 at 11 a.m. by making it clear that there shall be no interim relief except that the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation shall not issue work order till further orders. However, on March 23, 2000 M/s. Millenium Infrastructure (P) Ltd. withdrew the aforesaid writ petition. Five persons tendered their documents and papers and they are M/s. Konark Infrastructure (P) Ltd., appellant in Civil Appeal arising out of S.L.P. (C) Nos. 6717-18 of 2000, M/s. Monarch Infrastructure (P) Ltd., appellant in Civil Appeal arising out of 6298 of 2000 and respondent No. 3, M/s. Jai Krishna Infrastructure (P) Ltd. respondent No. 4, M/s. Oriental Veneers (P) Ltd. respondent No. 5, M/s. Sample Infrastructure, re-spondent No. 6 in the Appeal filed by M/s. Konark Infrastructure (P) Ltd. The Commissioner of the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation, however, intimated the tenderers that as the High Court was seized of a writ petition he did not propose to open the tenders until further orders from the High Court on March 24, 2000. However, he sought for information of the numbers of the tenders filed and the tenderers qualifying and not qualifying conditions Clauses 6(a) and 6(b) of the tender Booklet. On March 24, 2000 the tenders were opened and an objection was raised that M/s. Monarch Infrastructure (P) Ltd. did not fulfil the conditions either under Clause 6(a) or Clause 6(b) in spite of which, it is stated, the Commissioner insisted on opening the same. The Commissioner informed the parties that Clause 6(a) had been waived of by reason of the order made by the Government in exercise of its powers under Section 451 of the Municipal Corporation Act, 1949. The Commissioner allowed M/s. Monarch Infrastructure (P) Ltd. to furnish a certificate as to Clause 6(b) by a Chartered Accountant as to its networth which discloses Rs. 4.5 crores approximately. The Commissioner proceeded to finalise the tenders on the basis that Clause 6(a) had stood waived or deleted in view of the order of the Government issued under Section 451 of the Municipal Corporation Act and awarded the contract in favour of M/s. Monarch Infrastructure (P) Ltd. The appellant M/s. Konark Infrastructure (P) Ltd. filed a writ petition challenging the award of contract to M/s. Monarch Infrastructure (P) Ltd. on various grounds.
(3.) The High Court allowed the writ petition filed by M/s. Konark Infrastructure (P) Ltd. and held that the deletion of Clause 6(a) of the Tender Booklet took place after offers were received on March 23, 2000 and the offers had been received on the basis of Clause 6(a) and Clause 6(b) which would define the conditions of eligibility. Therefore, the High Court held that the Municipal Corporation had acted arbitrarily in considering the bid of M/s. Monarch Infrastructure (P) Ltd. which did not fulfil the eligibility conditions on the last date which was prescribed for the submission of the tenders. Therefore, the High Court took the view that once a decision was taken to delete the application of Clause 6(a) and offers which were received on March 23, 2000 being made on the basis of existence of Clause 6(a), fairness and equal treatment required that the process should be carried out afresh to determine whether better or higher offers would be received upon the deletion of the same and that evidently having not been done, a restricted application of the modified tender conditions to only the existing bidders, the Municipal Corporation had been deprived of the opportunity which it could have had of obtaining higher or better bids. On that basis, the High Court allowed the writ petition. However, it was noticed that by reason of the deletion of Clause 6(a) of the Tender Booklet a wider net was available and, therefore, the Municipal Corporation should have the benefit of as wide a field as should be reasonably possible. In that view of the matter, it did not direct the Municipal Corporation to accept the higher bid of M/s. Konark Infrastructure (P) Ltd. and thereby while quashing the award of contract in favour of M/s. Monarch Infrastructure (P) Ltd. made it clear that the Municipal Corporation would be at liberty to invite a fresh tender for the purpose of awarding the contract for collection of octroi on terms and conditions which would be prescribed by the Municipal Corporation. Further, it was made clear that the aforesaid process should be completed within a period of four weeks and some interim arrangement for collection of octroi shall be made subject to certain conditions.;