The Tripura High Court quashed the Transport Department’s smart card tender, ruling the bidding process arbitrary and unconstitutional. The court ordered fresh tenders, cancelled the awarded contract, and directed state authorities and the successful bidder to pay litigation costs to the petitioner.
The Tripura High Court has quashed the award of a contract for the state’s smart card-based driving licence and vehicle registration certificate project, holding that the tender process adopted by the Transport Department was arbitrary, unreasonable and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution.
The judgment was delivered by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao and Justice Biswajit Palit while allowing a writ petition filed by M-Tech Innovations Ltd, which had challenged its disqualification from the technical bidding process for the project.
M-Tech Innovations Ltd had previously executed the smart card-based driving licence and vehicle registration certificate project in Tripura from 2017 for a period of five years. Following the completion of its contract, the Transport Department floated a fresh Request for Proposal (RFP) on December 28, 2022, seeking a service provider for the next five-year term.
The company challenged the decision of the authorities after its technical bid was declared “non-responsive.” According to the petitioner, the rejection was made without assigning any valid reasons despite repeated representations to the authorities. The company further alleged that the process was designed to favour another bidder, Rosmerta Technologies Ltd, which was eventually awarded the contract.
After examining the records placed before it, the High Court found that M-Tech Innovations had submitted all the necessary documents relating to turnover and audited financial statements for the financial years 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22, in accordance with the eligibility conditions prescribed in the tender document.
The state government argued that the petitioner ought to have furnished financial records for the years 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20. However, the Bench rejected this interpretation, observing that such a reading was inconsistent with the explicit provisions contained in the Request for Proposal.
The court held that the authorities had deliberately misread the tender conditions and attempted to justify the rejection of the petitioner’s bid on grounds that found no support in the tender documents. The Bench observed that the Technical Evaluation Committee had ignored relevant materials submitted by the petitioner while interpreting the eligibility criteria in an incorrect manner.
The High Court further noted that the successful bidder, Rosmerta Technologies Ltd, had also failed to comply with certain mandatory requirements relating to the submission of income tax returns. Despite this deficiency, its bid was accepted by the authorities.
The Bench observed that if such requirements were relaxed or waived for one bidder, they could not be selectively enforced against another bidder under similar circumstances. Such unequal treatment, the court held, amounted to arbitrariness and violated the constitutional guarantee of equality before the law under Article 14.
The judgment also expressed serious concern over the stand taken by the state authorities in their affidavit before the court. The Bench remarked that false and untenable pleas had been advanced despite documentary evidence clearly establishing the factual position. Referring to settled principles laid down by the Supreme Court, the court reiterated that the government is expected to function as a model litigant and should avoid relying on false or technical objections to defeat legitimate claims.
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Holding that the entire technical evaluation process suffered from arbitrariness and unequal treatment, the High Court set aside the contract awarded to Rosmerta Technologies Ltd. It also quashed the work order issued on November 28, 2023, along with the agreement executed on November 16, 2023, for implementation of the smart card project.
The Division Bench directed the Tripura Transport Department to immediately initiate a fresh tender process in accordance with law and the conditions prescribed in the Request for Proposal. The court further ordered respondents one to five, representing the state authorities, as well as respondent six, Rosmerta Technologies Ltd, to pay litigation costs of Rs 20,000 each to M-Tech Innovations Ltd within six weeks.
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The ruling is expected to have significant implications for public procurement practices in Tripura, reaffirming that government authorities must conduct tender evaluations in a transparent, fair and non-discriminatory manner. The judgment also serves as a reminder that any departure from prescribed tender conditions or unequal treatment of bidders can invite judicial intervention and lead to cancellation of government contracts.
