- (1.) B. M. Lal, J. Suhail Ahmad, who is a registered contractor in the office of Regional Food Controller Allahabad and doing the contract-job of transporting food grains, sugar etc. from P1cf godown Dandi, Allahabad to all blocks of district Allahabad, seeks a writ in the nature of certiorari quashing an order of respondent No. 2 dated 1-7-1996, by which contract-job of transportation has been allotted to respondent No. 3-M/s Ekbal and Sons, Kareilly, Allahabad.
(2.) IN nutshell, the caseof the petitioner is that he is a contractor carrying on busi ness of transportation of food grain and Sugar of F. C. I. (Food Corporation of INdia ). The branch of F. C. I. at Allahabad i. e. respondent No. 2 Regional Food Controller Allahabad, invites tenders every year from registered contractors and after considering over all comparative merits as also the rates offered, the contract of transportation is settled in favour of the best contractor. That for the year 1996-97 commenc ing 1-4-1996 and ending 31-3-1997, tenders were invited. According to averments made in the writ petition, pursuant to tender notice, five contractors nave submitted their tender-forms, in which rate offered by the petitioner is the lowest. Vide paragraph No. 13 of the writ petition, details of all five tenders and the rates offered, have also been furnished by the petitioner which are as under: (1) Suhail Ahmad (Petitioner) 540% ASr (2) Mukhtar Construction Company 560% ASr (3) Rajiv Ghosh Rate not filled up (4) M/s Ekbal and Sons (respondent No. 3) 590% ASr (5) Anand Kumar Agarwal 595% ASr However, it is further averred that after negotiation the petitioner has reduced his rate from 540% ASR to 530% ASR whereas respondent No. 3-Ekbal and Sons reduced its rate from 590% ASR to 540% ASR. The remaining three contractors did not turn up for negotiation.
(3.) THUS, main grievance of the petitioner is that despite petitioner's tender being of the lowest rate and even after negotiation, reduction in rate from 540% ASR to 530% ASR, the said contract was not granted in favour of the petitioner but was granted to respondent No. 3 M/s Ekbal and Sons, whose tender rate was 10% ASR higher than the petitioner. Therefore, it is contended that petitioner has been discriminated violating the provisions of Article 14 of the Constitu tion of India. It is also submitted that throughout, the work of the petitioner was found commendable and letters of ap preciation were also issued by the authority concerned in favour of the petitioner.;