Scope of judicial review in tender process limited, says HC | Chennai News

Chennai: Madras high court made it clear that the scope of judicial review in tender process is extremely limited and, unless arbitrariness or mala fide on the part of the authority is alleged, the court’s interference should be minimal.The first bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan made the observation on Tuesday while dismissing two petitions moved by I-Net Secure Labs Pvt Ltd, an Arumbakkam-based company, and Innovatiview India Ltd, a Delhi-based company, challenging the tender issued for providing webcasting services at polling booths.“…we find no proof of arbitrariness, perversity, mala fide or bias that would warrant judicial interference. When the ECI has categorically averred that the tender is floated having regard to the time-bound and sensitive nature of election-related activities, and nothing in rebuttal is produced by the petitioner, we do not find any merit in the submissions,” the court said.“Moreover, we are conscious of the ruling of the Supreme Court to the effect that the tender floating authority is empowered to stipulate certain preconditions or qualifications to ensure that the contractor has the capacity and the resources to successfully execute the work,” it said.The petitioners primarily challenged certain eligibility conditions in a tender issued for webcasting services during the elections. According to the petitioner, the project involves the deployment of webcasting infrastructure in many polling stations across the state, along with monitoring systems for counting centres.The petitioner alleged that the eligibility requirements in the tender prevented wider participation of bidders. The plea also questioned the turnover requirement prescribed. The petitioner wanted the court to direct the ECI to revise the eligibility norms.