HC upholds rejection of bid for supply of mother & baby care kits

Though whether the impugned order was appealable or not was a debatable issue, which requires further consideration, this court was not deciding the said issue in this writ petition, the judge said.

The Madras High Court has upheld an order of the Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation, which rejected last month, a bid offered by a private firm in Thanjavur district for supply of mother and baby care kits.

Justice Abdul Quddhose upheld the rejection order while dismissing a writ petition from Shri Shanthi Surgicare , seeking to quash an order dated May 2 this year of the Corporation.

The tender pertained to supply of 3.30 lakh units of mother and baby care kits for distribution at free of cost to all children born in government hospitals, every year. The petitioner's bid was rejected on the ground that the Chennai branch of the National Co-operative Consumer's Federation of India, which gave a certification, was only a co- operative society, registered under the Multi States Co-operative Societies Act, 2002 and was neither a government organisation nor an undertaking of the State or the Central government. Therefore, the petitioner had not satisfied the tender requirement which stipulates that the tenderer should have supplied a minimum of 3.30 kits in last three financial years to any government/government organisations.

Dismissing the petition on June 22, the judge noted that no iota of evidence had been produced by the petitioner to establish that its bid was rejected only to help other bidders. The petitioner had also exercised appellate remedy by filing an appeal as against the impugned order. Though whether the impugned order was appealable or not was a debatable issue, which requires further consideration, this court was not deciding the said issue in this writ petition, the judge said.