New Delhi — The Supreme Court has held that a higher financial offer cannot rescue a bidder who fails a mandatory experience condition.
A Ludhiana market committee accepted Micky Traders’ ₹16.51 crore bid for collecting user charges, about ₹1.5 crore above rival L.R.Y. Labour Contractor. The Punjab and Haryana High Court quashed the award because Micky Traders lacked two years’ qualifying experience in collecting user charges or parking fees for a government, semi-government or public-sector body.
Justices K.V. Viswanathan and Alok Aradhe agreed. They said experience in organising cattle fairs, where money collection was incidental, was not equivalent to the specialised public-revenue collection required by the tender. Certificates relied upon were issued in other firms’ names, and no partnership deed or registration material established their connection with Micky Traders.
The Court reiterated that tender authorities generally receive deference in interpreting their own conditions, but not when the interpretation is patently arbitrary or outside the document. Revenue considerations cannot cure basic ineligibility because bids can be compared only among eligible bidders. The appeals by Micky Traders and the authorities were dismissed.
