Facts of the Case

This is a government-tender eligibility dispute, not a GST case. M/s Green Earth Private Limited's bid for a PMGSY road construction contract, floated by the J&K Rural Roads Development Agency under e-NIT No. CEJ/PMGSY/714 of 2022-23, was declared non-responsive by order dated 05.12.2022 on the ground that its joint-venture partner had submitted Company Audit Reports for only two years instead of the five financial years (2017-18 to 2021-22) required under Clause 4.4 B(a)(III)(e) of the Standard Bidding Document (SBD). The petitioner challenged this rejection and also sought consideration of its representations dated 05.12.2022 and 06.12.2022.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the petitioner's bid was correctly declared non-responsive for failing to upload the required five years of Company Audit Reports.
  2. Whether the respondents acted arbitrarily by rejecting the bid after having previously found the petitioner eligible on similar documentation for an earlier, related tender.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • All required documents, including the audit reports for the required five years, had in fact been uploaded, and the respondents had arbitrarily and mechanically declared the bid non-responsive.
  • The same joint-venture partner had previously been found eligible on the same set of documents for a related work package, making the rejection inconsistent and arbitrary.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The Chief Engineer, PMGSY, confirmed that the complaint/representation had been considered before filing the reply, though the internal order lacked a proper number and date — an omission the Court directed be avoided in future.
  • The bid was correctly declared non-responsive because the Company Audit Reports uploaded before the cut-off date covered only two years, not the mandatory five, and courts should not interfere with technical/commercial tender evaluations absent arbitrariness, mala fide or irrationality.

Court Order / Findings

  • Justice Moksha Khajuria Kazmi reiterated settled principles of tender-law judicial review (from Tata Cellular, Directorate of Education v. Educomp, and Meerut Development Authority) that courts should show restraint in commercial and technical tender matters.
  • On facts, the Court found the petitioner had indeed failed to upload the required five years of audit reports before the cut-off date and could not be permitted to add or modify documents thereafter.
  • The writ petition was dismissed as without merit, though the petitioner was given liberty to challenge the outcome of its separate complaint/representation if a cause of action survived.

Important Clarification

GST does not feature in this dispute at all — it is entirely about compliance with Standard Bidding Document requirements for a PMGSY road contract and the limited scope of judicial review over technical bid evaluation. Bidders should note the reaffirmed principle that courts will not second-guess a tendering authority's technical evaluation of eligibility documents unless clear arbitrariness or mala fide is shown.

Sections Involved

  • Standard Bidding Document (SBD) Clause 4.4 B(a)(III)(e) — financial standing/audit report requirements for PMGSY tenders.
  • Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

Decision – In Favour of

In favour of the Respondents (PMGSY/JKRRDA authorities) — the writ petition challenging the non-responsive bid declaration was dismissed; this is a tender-eligibility ruling with no GST content.

Case Details

Court: High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh at Jammu
Case No.: WP(C) No. 2669/2022
Coram: Justice Moksha Khajuria Kazmi
Date of Order: 24.08.2023

Link to Download the Order

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