R.C.KATHURIA, J. - (1.) IN this writ petition, the petitioners have prayed for direction to the official respondents not to accept the tenders of the private respondents and in case the same have been accepted by them then the latter be restrained from executing the work allotted to them.
(2.) PETITIONER No. 1 is Bhaichara Goods Transport Truck Union. This union has been armed consisting of members mentioned in Annexure P.2 in order to carry out the contracts entered into between members of the petitioner-union and various agencies of the State Government for the purposes of transportation of food-grains stock articles/gunny bales etc. by road from one centre to another within the District Jind. For the year 2001-2002 tenders were invited by the official respondents and the same were to be received upto 28.2.2001 at 11.00 a.m. by the office of the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Jind (respondent No. 4) and were to be opened on the same day at 11.30 a.m. In terms of the requirement of the tender notice, the petitioners submitted their tender quoting rate at 15% above the last year D.C. rates for the transportation of food-grains from various purchase centres in Tehsil Narwana and has also deposited the security amount of Rs. 15,000/- vide receipt No. 183 dated 28.2.2001. As the tenders had quoted excessive percentage of rates above the D.C. rates for the year 2000-2001 for the work to be undertaken therein, all the tenders were rejected at the spot on 28.2.2001 by the official respondents. Thereafter fresh tenders, as per tender notice. copy of which is Annexure-P.6. with the writ petition, were invited for 27.3.2001 by the committee headed by respondent No. 4 constituted for the said purpose. The stand of the petitioners is that they wanted to submit the fresh tender on 27.3.2001 in the office of respondent No. 4 and reached there for the said purpose at 9.00 a.m. but they were not allowed to enter the office of respondent No. 4 by the police force deployed there. Whereas respondents No. 3 to 6 received the tenders of respondents No. 10 to 12 and their supporters under various names in order to help them and oust the petitioners from undertaking the tender work. Aggrieved by the action of the official respondents, petitioners through Shri Dharam Pal addressed a letter, copy of which is Annexure-P.7, to the Chief Secretary, Haryana, Chandigarh informing him that the petitioner was stopped from entering into the office by the police force deployed there and was denied the right to submit the tender for the work notified. It was brought to his notice that the government was being dupted of lacs of rupees by accepting the tender at the higher rates while they had been ready to do work at the lower rates as they had been undertaking this work for the last more than ten years. It is further case of the petitioners that on 29.3.2001 they met official respondents No. 3 and 5 and impressed upto them to cancel the tender received on 27.3.2001 or in the alternative they and respondents No. 10 to 12 be called for negotiation as they were ready to undertake the work at the rate of 20% below the last year D.C. approved rates but their offer was refused by them. Thereafter they submitted an application to the official respondents No. 3 and 5 to give them the copy of the tender submitted by respondents No. 10 to 12, but their application was destroyed. Terming the action of the official respondents as illegal, arbitrary and against the public interest, they filed the present writ petition.
(3.) ON notice of motion, respondents No. 1 to 4 and 7 to 9 have contested the claim of the petitioners. Joint written statement has been filed by respondents No. 1 to 4 and 7 to 9 wherein the stand of petitioners for submission of their tender on 28.2.2001 and rejection of all the tenders on the ground that rates quoted by them were found excessive being above the D.C. rates fixed for the last year was admitted. At the same time, it was maintained that in response to the fresh tender notice, the petitioners did not submit their tender on 27.3.2001 as required. Further according to them, in all, 8 persons submitted their tenders for Narwana, Safidon, Ghogheria, Julana, Pillukhera and Jind. Out of these tenders, two tenders were received for Narwana and centre of Tehsil Narwana. M/s Balaji Truck Union, Narwana, through Shri Bhim Singh was one of the tenderers for this centre, but as it did not deposit the earnest money, its tender was rejected. The other tender was submitted by M/s Rattan Singh and Company, Narwana which had offered to undertake the work at the rate of 10% increase from the last year D.C. rate. As the rate so quoted by it was reasonable, same was accepted by the committee on 27.3.2001. Thereafter Shri Rattan Singh deposited the security on the same day vide receipt No. 225, copy of which is Annexure-P3. The petition was also resisted on the ground that it was bad for non-joinder and of M/s Rattan Singh and Company in whose favour the tender was accepted on 27.3.2001 being a necessary party. No separate written statement has been filed by respondent No. 5.;