JUDGEMENT
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(1.)Leave granted.
(2.)The present appeal arises out of the judgment and order dated February 16, 2005 in Miscellaneous Case Nos. 9 and 10 of 2005 and Miscellaneous Case No. 57 of 2004 in Review Petition No. 4 of 2002 passed by the High Court of Orissa.
(3.)Shortly stated the facts of the case are that respondent No. 1, Steel Authority of India Ltd. ("SAIL" for short) issued tenders for raising, transporting and loading of iron ore lump and fines into railway wagons at Kalta Iron Mine. The tender was required to be submitted in two parts: (i) Techno-Commercial Parameters (Part-I) and (ii) Price Bid (Part- II). Price bid of the tender was to be opened only after opening of the Techno-Commercial Parameters and if the bidder was found qualified. In response to the first notice dated June 5, 2000, 19 tender papers were sold. The authorities, however, received response only from 10 persons. Techno-Commercial Parameters (Part-I) was opened and it was found that only one bidder, namely, M/s Ores India Pvt. Ltd. (respondent No. 2 herein) was qualified. The process, therefore, had to be cancelled because for opening of Price Bid (Part-II), minimum three Techno-Commercially qualified offers ought to have been there as per Clause 7.7 of Purchase/Contract Procedure, 2000. Re-tender was, therefore, issued on September 8, 2000, but it was also required to be cancelled owing to "no perceptible improvement" in the situation. The tender was floated for the third time, which was unsuccessful. The fourth notice inviting tenders was issued on January 22, 2001. It met with the same fate. Then fifth time, tenders were invited on May 7, 2001 wherein the appellant was found eligible and qualified. His bid was the lowest. The said bid was accepted and the work was entrusted to him. The decision taken by the first respondent (SAIL) came to be challenged by respondent No. 2 in the High Court of Orissa by filing a Writ Petition being OJC No. 3508 of 2002. The main allegation of the petitioner before the High Court (respondent No. 2 herein) was that first respondent (SAIL) cancelled previous four notices inviting tenders only with a view to oblige the appellant and to entrust work to him who could not qualify himself earlier for want of requisite eligible criteria in tender process. Ultimately, the standard as prescribed earlier was relaxed and lowered down in the 5th tender notice. When the present appellant became eligible and qualified, the tenders were opened and his bid was illegally accepted by SAIL. The petition was heard on merits and the High Court vide its judgment and order dated May 30, 2002 dismissed the petition. Respondent No. 2, however, came to know that he was eligible and yet his case was not considered. He, therefore, filed a review in the High Court which was registered as Review Petition No. 4 of 2002. By a judgment and order dated February 3, 2003, the Division Bench allowed the Review Petition and directed the authorities (SAIL) to open fourth tender and consider the case of the petitioner (respondent No. 2) and respondent No. 3 (appellant) afresh in accordance with law within a period of one month from the receipt of the writ. The above order was challenged by the appellant by filing Special Leave Petition in this Court. Special Leave Petition was also filed by SAIL. Both the Special Leave Petitions, however, were dismissed by this Court on November 28, 2003.