Ashis Kumar Chakraborty, J. - (1.) In this writ petition the petitioner has challenged the decision dated February 3, 2017 of the respondent Nos.3 and 4 to reject his Technical Bid and disqualifying him to participate in the Financial Bid for selecting the successful tenderer to run the catering canteen on board the Inter-island vessel MV Chowra (in short "the said vessel") owned by the Andaman and Nicobar Administration (in short "the Administration").
(2.) The facts relevant for the decision in this writ petition are as follows:- On January 3, 2017 the respondent No.4, the Deputy Director, Directorate of Shipping Services the Administration issued a notice inviting e-tender (hereinafter referred to as "the said notice inviting tender") in two bid system, that is, Technical Bid and Financial Bid from the reputed Catering Contractor/Owner/Proprietor/Manager of Registered Hotel or Registered Canteen or Registered Restaurant or Registered Catering Services, having two years experience in the field of catering, for running Catering Canteen on board the said vessel for the period of two years. The said notice inviting tender expressly mentioned that the e-Tender document with detailed terms and conditions can be downloaded from the relevant portal, on payment of fees and all e-Tenders will be received upto 1500 hours on January 27, 2017 and the same will be opened by the Tender Committee on January 27, 2017 at 1530 hours. It was further mentioned that the Technical Bid will be opened at the first instance and at the second stage the Financial Bid of the technically qualified bidders only will be opened. On January 17, 2017, the said notice inviting tender was published in the local newspaper.
(3.) The petitioner, being interested to participate in the said tender procured the e-Tender document by downloading the same from the relevant portal. The petitioner has disclosed the said e-tender document in this writ petition. For the sake of convenience, some of the relevant terms mentioned in the said e-Tender document (hereinafter referred to as "the tender document") are extracted hereinbelow:- .. . " "1. TERMS OF e-TENDER: 1.3 The tenderers shall closely pursue all the clauses and term & conditions indicated in the e-tender documents before quoting. If the tenderer has any doubt about the meaning of any portion of the e-tender or find discrepancies/ omissions in the e-tender document issued or incomplete or requires clarification, they may approach the Directorate before submission of e-bid. No. claim will be entertained later on the grounds of lack of knowledge. ... ... ... ... 3 Prequalification criteria:- 3.1 The average annual financial turnover of the tenderer for the two financial year i.e. of 2013-2014 and 2014 2015 should be at least be Rs. 15,00,000/- (Rupees Fifteen lakhs) each year with Govt. /Private agency. 3.2 The Tenderer should posses a minimum of two years experience as contractor / owner / Manager in catering services and to prepare and serve meals (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Tea, Coffee, snacks and other items) for atleast 200 personnel on daily basis. The experience certificate for the above shall be acceptable only if issued by Govt. Department/Institutions/ PSUs. A copy of the contract/ work-order / agreement must accompany the experience certificate. 3.3 The Tenderer should have the license obtained from the office of the Commissioner of Food Safety under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 for a period of two years for counting the experience. ... ... ... ... 4. Submissions to e-Tender:- 4.1. The Technical Bid: .... ... ... .... 4.1.3. The average annual financial turnover of the tenderer for the two financial year i.e. of 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 should be at least be Rs.15,00,000/- ( Rupees Fifteen lakhs only) each year with Govt./Private agency. The scanned copies of audited statement of the two financial years i.e. of 2013-2014 and 2014- 2015 should be uploaded in the website wwweprocandaman.gov.in." 4.1.4 The Tenderer should possess minimum 02 years experience as catering contractor/ Owner / Proprietor/ Manager of Registered Hotel or Registered Canteen or Registered Restaurant or in the field of Registered Catering Services. The Tenderer should scan and upload the Experience certificate for two years from Govt. Departments/ Public Sector undertaking. Documentary proof shall be uploaded failing which tender will be rejected. 4.1.5 The Tenderer should scan and upload the license obtained from the office of the Commissioner of Food Safety under the Food Safety and standards Act, 2006 for a period of two years for counting the experience. 4.1.8 The Tenderer should be registered with Central Excise Department and must have Service tax Registration Number. The copy of service tax registration to be should scan and upload. ... ... ... .... 4.2. Financial Bid:- The Technical Bids will be opened by a Committee at the first instance and evaluated. At the second stage, Financial Bids of technically qualified offers will be opened for further evaluation and ranking before acceptance of offer. ... ... ... ...";