Madras HC rejects Hero Cycles’ plea for relaxing tender rules

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has rejected a writ plea from Hero Cycles for a directive to the State government to consider its bid for supply of over six lakh bicycles under the government’s free cycle scheme for schoolchildren.

Refusing to direct the government to relax some of the minor rules of the tender and to accept the bid of Hero Ecotech Ltd, Justice K Ravichandrabaabu said the question of relaxation does not arise while considering the technical qualifications, notwithstanding the fact that the lapse is minor or major.

If a pre-condition is relaxed by considering the fact that the same is only minimal, the question next that would arise would be as to why not the same relaxation be extended in respect of other conditions for other persons as well, which according to another bidder may be minimal and does not go to the root of the matter, the judge said. If 40 per cent is the pass mark, certainly the person who gets 39 per cent is not entitled to be declared as passed. Once such relaxation is made to one person, that will not end with him or her. On the other hand, it would only open a floodgate, the judge added.

According to the petitioner, the government rejected the company’s bid for two technical reasons – one for failure to fix a geared bell in the cycle as prescribed in the tender document and for not affixing logo of Tamil Nadu government in the sample cycles submitted by the company.