Madras HC dismissed PIL to quash E Tender to procure 6 crore pouches of palm oil

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Tuesday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking to quash the government notification issued calling for a short E tender to procure 6 crore pouches of palm oil.

The litigant Sridhar from Madurai moved the Madras High Court (MHC) seeking to quash the notification issued by the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation to call for short E tender as it is illegal and violative of tender rules.

The case was listed before the first bench of the MHC comprising Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy.

Advocate General (AG) R Shunmugasundaram appeared for the State contended that as a precautionary measure envisaging the demands would arise during Christmas and Pongal festivals, the short E tender called for the procurement of 6 crore pouches of fortified palm oil to be distributed through Public Distribution System. Further, the AG also submitted that there are provisions to call for short tender. Accepting the submission, the bench dismissed the PIL.

The litigant submitted that the Civil Supplies department issued a notification on November 8 inviting bidders to participate online bidders. The litigant contended that the prescribed deadline to participate in the bidding is within 13 days, that too for a product that has to be imported.

The litigant claims that the notification is in violation of the Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tenders Act, 2000, wherein it earmarks minimum time for the invitation of tenders fifteen days notice is mandatory for tenders involving value up to Rs 2 crore, in this case, it is roughly above Rs 600 crore. Hence the litigant sought to quash the notification as illegal and in violation of rules.