In the case of black Panther Guards and Services Pvt. Ltd. v. Union of India and others. A writ petition was being filed by the petitioner stating that a “Notice Inviting Tender (NIT)” was issued on Government e-Marketplace Portal (GeM Portal) which extended the date of the submission and completion of the tender. The petitioner, Company registered under the Companies Act, 1956, has filed a present petition being aggrieved by order/letter by which the respondents have declined to extend the validity of the period in respect of acceptance of tender.
In the above case, Hon’ble Justice S C Sharma and Hon’ble Justice S K Awasthi held that Security Services was permitted to operate and now the petitioner is making lame excuses by saying that he was not able to submit the tender online on account of lockdown and accordingly the writ petition was dismissed.
Petitioner's Contentions :
- It was contended that the petitioner was not able to submit its tender on account of Lockdown and therefore, mails were sent to respondents and respondents have finally rejected the petitioner's request.
- The petitioner was not able to apply in time and the action of the respondent in not extending the cut off date is illegal and irregular and deserves to be set aside.
- The petitioner also stated that the office of the petitioner Security Agency was closed as it was in the contaminated area and therefore, the petitioner was not able to apply in time. It has also been stated that the respondents have acted in an unjust and arbitrary manner and the petitioner, who is doing similar kind of work is entitled to participate in the process of tender.
- The petitioners most respectfully pray that this petition be allowed with costs and by the issuance of the appropriate writ,
Respondent’s contentions:
- Assistant Solicitor General of India contended before this Court that the NIT was published on Government e-Marketplace Portal and only those persons, who were registered on GeM Portal were entitled to participate in the tender process.
- It has further argued before this Court that the petitioner has not filed any document to demonstrate that the petitioner is registered on GeM Portal. Also from 13/03/2020 to 24/03/2020 there was no lockdown in the country. The process of submitting tender was the on-line process, Banks were functional and all type of transactions could have been done by the petitioner.
- Court ‘s attention was also drawn towards Government of India notification, which certainly permits the Security Agencies and their offices to be functional during the lockdown
High Court findings
In the present case, NIT was issued on Government Portal (GeM Portal) on 13/03/2020. The lockdown was enforced on 25/03/2020 and the petitioner Company did not submit its tender which was to be submitted on-line up to 24/03/2020. The respondents extended the date of the tender keeping the lockdown in mind
The petitioner even did not submit his tender during the extended period and now the period has come to an end and he has approached this Court The respondents have successfully completed the process of tender within 90 days. The petitioner could have approached this Court earlier, however, opted to keep quiet in the matter and now when the work has been allotted to another company, the petitioner who has not participated in the process of tender is raising all hue and cry in the matter
The Court in light of the fact that two extensions were already granted to submit the bids, does not find any reason to interfere with the process adopted by the respondents. The respondents have rightly rejected the petitioner's request for a third extension keeping in view the facts and circumstances of the case. This Court does not find any reason to grant relief as prayed by the petitioner.
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