- (1.) The applicant had emerged as a successful bidder for the work of "Sewerage Sub Component of Kochi Corporation Construction of wet wells 3, 7, and 8 and laying of pumping mains - package No.KCH - SS - 03 A" pursuant to a notice inviting tender issued by the respondents. The project in question was funded by the Asian Development Bank and, pursuant to it emerging as the lowest bidder, the applicant entered into an agreement with the 1st respondent as the employer, the 2nd respondent as the nodal agency and the 3rd respondent as the owner of the project. The bidding documents, that formed part of the agreement, were in three parts, namely, Part -1 that enumerated the bidding procedure, Part -2 that enumerated the works requirement and Part -3 that enumerated the conditions of contract and contract forms.
(2.) In the General Conditions of Contract (GCC), Clause 2.3 that deals with interpretation indicates that the documents forming the contract have to be interpreted in the following order of priority: " 2. Interpretation 2.1 xxxxx 2.2 xxxxx 2.3: The documents forming the Contract shall be interpreted in the following order of priority: a. Agreement, b. Letter of Acceptance, c. Contractor's Bid, d. Particular Conditions of Contract, e. General Conditions of Contract, f. Specifications, g. Bill of Quantities (or Schedules of Prices for lump sum contracts), and h. Drawings; i. any other document listed in the PCC as forming part of the Contract."
(3.) Clause 24 of the GCC deals with procedure for disputes and reads as follows: "24. Procedure for Disputes 24.1 The rationale of amicable settlement should be followed to settle the disputes at the lowest possible level of responsibility by bringing the individuals concerned face to face. The project manager of the Employer and the Project Manager of the Contractor's representative in the Project may try to settle the dispute amicably. 24.2 If the dispute is not settled at this level as indicated in 24.1, than the matter shall tried to be solved by Chief of the Contractor's firm and Project Director, Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Authority on the same rationale of amicable settlement. 24.3 Any dispute or difference arising out of this Contract or in connection therewith and which cannot be amicably settled according to Clause 24.1 and 24.2 shall be finally settled through the local court of Law. The resulting award shall be final and binding on the Parties and shall be in lieu of any other remedy. 24.4 The Location of the Court will be as specified in the Particular Conditions of the Contract (PCC)";