CHENNAI: The Chief Justice of the Madras High Court (MHC) on Wednesday set aside the single judge's order that cancelled the tender floated by TANGEDCO to procure 19,000 crore smart meter for the State.
Earlier this month, the single judge quashed the tender floated by the TANGEDCO as the e-reverse bidding adopted by the State is beyond the scope of the Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tenders Act, 1998 and the Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tenders Rules, 2000.
Aggrieved by this order the TANGEDCO filed an appeal seeking to set aside the single judge's order.
The appeal was listed before the first division bench comprising Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy. Senior counsels Abhishek Manu Singhvi, P Wilson and Advocate General PS Raman appeared for the State.
The petitioner in the writ petition EFICAA Ensmart solutions is technically disqualified in the bid for smart meter and, hence it is not competent to participate in the tender process. Further, EFICAA has no locus standi to assail the tender conditions, said the counsels. By adopting the e- reverse auction, the transparency is maintained and the best possible lowest price is sought to be achieved, thereby benefitting the public exchequer, the counsels added.
Senior counsels Mukul Rohatgi and Srinath Sridevan appeared for EFICAA contended that the concept of e-reverse auction is alien to the Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tenders Act, 1998 and the Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tenders Rules, 2000.
In e-reverse auction, after the rates are quoted and after the technical bids are opened and the financial bids are opened, further opportunity is given to the lowest bidder to alter the rates, submitted the counsels.
This would be violative of Rule 23 of the Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tenders Rules, 2000, they added.
After the submission, the bench wrote that the procedure and criteria to be adopted for finalising the tender document is left to the discretion of the authority inviting offers and/or floating the tenders, the Act and the Rules do not suggest the form of tenders.
The Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tenders Act, 1998 and the Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tenders Rules, 2000 cannot be remotely interpreted that e-reverse bidding process is prohibited, e-reverse bidding is one of the terms of the tender, wrote the bench.
E-reverse bidding process in no manner is beyond the purview of the Act of 1998 and the Rules of 2000, wrote the bench and set aside the single judge's order.