Kerala Government Electrical Contractors Association v. The State of Kerala and Ors. - (High Court of Kerala) (26 Apr 2016)

PWD can alter tender to invite contractors of global repute

MANU/KE/0394/2016

Commercial

The Kerala High Court dismissed a petition claiming impropriety in conduct by a public works department when it made amendments to a multiple-job tender to encourage participation by national and international contractors.

The PWD had amended tender removing mandatory registration requirements, and permitting composite bids for separate technical work. Upon initial release, only local contractors had shown interest in the tender.

The court opined that altering the tender to attract a higher calibre of contractors, who were previously excluded solely for not being registered with the department or State, was reasonable. It accepted that awarding contract for high value work in a composite manner, rather than as two separate items, was prerequisite for bigger contractors. In fact, contractors which had not executed composite work could not be awarded contract.

Relevant : Budhan Choudhry and Ors. vs. The State of Bihar MANU/SC/0047/1954 State of Kerala and Anr. vs. N.M. Thomas and Ors. MANU/SC/0479/1975

Tags : TENDER PWD AMEND COMPOSITE BID REGISTRATION