Court Rules Experience Criteria for Election Surveillance Tender Not Arbitrary or Unfair
In a significant judgment, the Calcutta High Court dismissed the appeal filed by M/s Innovatiview India Limited against the tender conditions set by the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal for providing a surveillance system during the upcoming West Bengal Legislative Assembly elections. The Division Bench, comprising Justices Shampa Sarkar and Ajay Kumar Gupta, upheld the tendering authority's right to prescribe stringent eligibility criteria, emphasizing that courts should not interfere unless the conditions are arbitrary, discriminatory, or mala fide.
The appellant, Innovatiview India Limited, had challenged the Request for Proposal (RFP) terms, arguing they were restrictive and anti-competitive, effectively excluding competent bidders. The company contended that the experience requirement of executing live election web streaming and installation of CCTV cameras at counting centers was unreasonable and not essential for achieving the tender's objectives.
During the proceedings, Senior Advocate Aman Lekhi, representing the appellant, highlighted that similar tender conditions in Kerala had been relaxed, suggesting that the experience criteria could be modified without compromising the tender's objectives. However, the respondents, represented by Senior Advocate S.N. Mookherjee, argued that the tender conditions were justified given the unique challenges of conducting elections in West Bengal, which involved a larger scale and complexity compared to other states.
The court, after examining the scope of work and the critical nature of the project, concluded that past experience in similar projects was a legitimate criterion to ensure efficiency and reliability. The judges emphasized that tendering authorities have discretion in setting eligibility criteria and that judicial interference is warranted only when there is clear evidence of arbitrariness or bias.
The decision reinforces the principle that courts should exercise restraint in matters of commercial and administrative decisions unless there is a clear violation of fairness or legality. The judgment highlights the importance of past experience in complex tender processes, particularly in high-stakes operations like election surveillance.
The appeal was dismissed, and the court upheld the stringent experience requirements as reasonable and aligned with the objectives of ensuring free, fair, and secure elections in West Bengal.
Bottom Line:
Tender conditions prescribed by the tendering authority are within its domain, and courts cannot interfere unless they are arbitrary, discriminatory, mala fide, or actuated by bias.
Statutory provision(s): Article 14 of the Constitution of India, Principles of Judicial Review, Doctrine of Level Playing Field, Doctrine of Proportionality.
