Prathiba Developers (P) LTD vs. Malabar Regional Co-Operative Milk Producers Union LTD.
Held
The High Court held that the tender authority is the best interpreter of its own tender documents and that the estimated cost, as clearly stipulated in the NIT, included GST. The Court found no mala fide or perversity in the respondent's interpretation and refused to interfere with the tender process.
Facts
A contractor challenged its technical disqualification from a tender for civil works, arguing that the GST component should be excluded from the estimated contract value when calculating the required financial turnover threshold. The Notice Inviting Tender (NIT) clearly stated the estimated cost of work as including GST.
Key Issues
Whether the GST component should be excluded from the estimated contract value for calculating a bidder's financial turnover eligibility in a tender, contrary to the tender document's explicit inclusion of GST in the estimated cost.
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE N.NAGARESH THURSDAY, THE 10TH DAY OF MARCH 2022/19TH PHALGUNA, 1943 WP(C) NO. 4896 OF 2022 PETITIONER: PRATHIBA DEVELOPERS (P) LTD., KARUKUNNATHU BUILDING, KASIM LANE, KALOOR, COCHIN 682 017, REPRESENTED BY ITS DIRECTOR, GEORGE BIJOY, AGED 53 YEARS, S/O. E.V. JACOB. BY ADVS. SANTHOSH MATHEW ARUN THOMAS KARTHIKA MARIA ANIL SEBASTIAN PULICKEL ABI BENNY AREECKAL LEAH RACHEL NINAN MATHEW NEVIN THOMAS KARTHIK RAJAGOPAL RESPONDENTS: 1 MALABAR REGIONAL CO-OPERATIVE MILK PRODUCERS UNION LTD., (MALABAR MILMA), HEAD OFFICE, KUNNAMANGALAM, KOZHIKODE 673 571, REPRESENTED BY ITS MANAGING DIRECTOR. 2 THE MANAGING DIRECTOR, MALABAR REGIONAL CO-OPERATIVE MILK PRODUCERS UNION LTD., (MALABAR MILMA), HEAD OFFICE, KUNNAMANALAM, KOZHIKODE 673 571. 3 P.C. THOMAS AND CO., PUTHUCHERY HOUSE, MAMANGALAM, PALARIVATTOM, ERNAKULAM-682 025, REPRESENTED BY ITS MANAGING DIRECTOR.
WP(C)No.4896/2022 2 4 MAPSGLOBAL CONSTRUCTIONS PVT. LTD., VYAPARA BHAVAN, KARANTHUR, KOZHIKODE, KERALA 673 571, REPRESENTED BY ITS MANAGING DIRECTOR. 5 M/S. T.O. ITTOOP & ASSOCIATES, CHITTOOR ROAD, PACHALAM, KOCHI, KERALA 682 012, REPRESENTED BY ITS MANAGING D
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