- (1.) The present appeal has been filed by the unsuccessful petitioner, a proprietorship concern, in the writ petition filed before this Court seeking direction to the respondents to place its name in Price Bid of the tender issued by the Indian Oil Corporation Limited ('the Corporation') for awarding contract of transportation of LPG Cylinders from Indane Bottling Plant, Bikaner. The petitioner also questioned a communication dated 03.04.2012 issued by the respondents informing M/s Shri Ram Roadlines, Jodhpur, a partnership firm, that it had been placed on the Holiday list and debarred from entering into any contract with the Corporation for a period of one year, effective from the date mentioned in the said communication.
(2.) The relevant facts, in brief, are that the respondent Corporation issued a notice inviting tender for awarding contract of transportation of Indane LPG Cylinders for the years 2012-14 from Indane Bottling Plant, Bikaner. The petitioner submitted the tender and after verification of documents through credential bid, the price bid was opened on 09.04.2012. However, the petitioner's name did not figure in the list of successful tenderers, who were invited for negotiations. Assuming that after opening of the price bid, its name had not been included in the list of successful tenderers on account of the fact that the petitioner's proprietor was partner in the said partnership firm M/s Shri Ram Roadlines, which had been put on Holiday list; the petitioner-appellant filed the writ petition leading to this appeal questioning its non-inclusion in the tender process. Besides this, the petitioner-appellant also challenged the aforesaid communication dated 03.04.2012 putting the said partnership firm on Holiday list and debarring it from entering into any contract with the Corporation for a period of one year.
(3.) A reply to the writ petition was filed on behalf of the respondent Corporation and it was, inter alia, submitted that the proprietor of the petitioner concern Mr. Hariram Bishnoi was having 50% share in the partnership firm M/s Shri Ram Roadlines, which had been placed on Holiday list and as the proprietor of the petitioner concern was having major share in the said partnership firm, the petitioner was not entitled for consideration of its price bid for the award of contract pursuant to NIT issued. The communication putting the partnership firm M/s Shri Ram Roadlines, Jodhpur on Holiday list was also justified.;