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whether Ansaldo Caldaie, Italy, can be said to be a Qualified Steam Generator Manufacturer within the definition set out in the detailed Invitation for Bids.= The importance of the above condition is manifested in the functioning of the Steam Generator which handles High Pressure Steam for the purpose of turning the turbines for generating electricity. The design and engineering of the evaporator and the boiler itself has to be such as to withstand the very high temperatures and pressures generated. The importance of the variable pressure operations is of great importance as far as generation and wastage of energy is concerned. The importance of the evaporator in controlling pressure during operations is to automatically regulate the flow of water, generation of pressure and temperature of the steam to the desired level. 28. In that view of the matter, we allow the Appeal and set aside the impugned judgment of the Division Bench of the High Court allowing the Writ Petition filed by the whether Ansaldo Caldaie, Italy, can be said to be a Qualified Steam Generator Manufacturer within the definition set out in the detailed Invitation for Bids.= The importance of the above condition is manifested in the functioning of the Steam Generator which handles High Pressure Steam for the purpose of turning the turbines for generating electricity. The design and engineering of the evaporator and the boiler itself has to be such as to withstand the very high temperatures and pressures generated. The importance of the variable pressure operations is of great importance as far as generation and wastage of energy is concerned. The importance of the evaporator in controlling pressure during operations is to automatically regulate the flow of water, generation of pressure and temperature of the steam to the desired level. 28. In that view of the matter, we allow the Appeal and set aside the impugned judgment of the Division Bench of the High Court allowing the Writ Petition filed by the The importance of the above condition is manifested in the functioning of the Steam Generator which handles High Pressure Steam for the purpose of turning the turbines for generating electricity. The design and engineering of the evaporator and the boiler itself has to be such as to withstand the very high temperatures and pressures generated. The importance of the variable pressure operations is of great importance as far as generation and wastage of energy is concerned. The importance of the evaporator in controlling pressure during operations is to automatically regulate the flow of water, generation of pressure and temperature of the steam to the desired level. 28. In that view of the matter, we allow the Appeal and set aside the impugned judgment of the Division Bench of the High Court allowing the Writ Petition filed by the
REPORTABLE
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CIVIL APPEAL NO.2134 OF 2012
(Arising out of SLP(C)No.7807 of 2011)
NTPC LIMITED ... APPELLANT
Vs.
ANSALDO CALDAIE BOILERS
INDIA P. LTD. & ANR. ... RESPONDENTS
J U D G M E N T
ALTAMAS KABIR, J.
1. Leave granted.
2. Following international competitive bidding procedures,
the Appellant had invited bids for the supply and
installation of Steam Generator package for captive coal-
based Thermal Power Projects in different areas. The bid of
the Respondent No.1 was rejected by the Appellant by its
letter dated 5th January, 2011, as the same did not meet the
minimum qualifying requirements set out in the Bid
documents. Furthermore, the Qualified Steam Generator
Manufacturer, Ansaldo Caldaie, Italy, proposed by the said
Respondent, did not have the necessary minimum
qualification, as was required in terms of the Bid
documents.
3. The main issue which arises for consideration in this
Appeal is whether Ansaldo Caldaie, Italy, can be said to be
a Qualified Steam Generator Manufacturer within the
definition set out in the detailed Invitation for Bids. The
said invitation for bid contained the qualifying requirement
for Bidders in Clause 7 of the Tender Document. Clause 7.1.0
provided that the Bidder should meet the qualifying
requirements of any one of the qualifying routes stipulated
under Clause 1.1.0 or 1.2.0 or 1.3.0 or 1.4.0 or 1.5.0. In
addition, the Bidder was also required to meet the
requirements stipulated under Clause 7.6.0 and 7.7.0,
together with the requirements stipulated under Section ITB.
4. Route 1 permits a Qualified Steam Generator Manufacturer
to join the bidding process provided that it should meet the
qualifying requirements of any of the qualifying routes
indicated in Clause 7 of the tender documents. In Clause 7
of the tender documents, five different routes have been
enumerated which could be taken by the tenderers, namely :-
(i) as a Qualified Steam Generator Manufacturer; or
(ii) as an Indian Steam Generator Manufacturer; or
(iii) as an Indian subsidiary company of a Qualified Steam
Generator Manufacturer; or
(iv) as an Indian Joint Venture Company for manufacturing
Super Critical Steam Generators in India between an
Indian Company and a Qualified Steam Generator
Manufacturer; or
(v) as an Indian Joint Venture Promoter holding at least
51% stake in a Joint Venture Company for
manufacturing Super Critical Steam Generators in
India between an Indian Company and a Qualified
Steam Generator Manufacturer.
5. Indisputably, none of the parties which responded to the
invitation adopted Routes 1 or 3. Bharat Heavy Electricals
Ltd. adopted Route 2, while Route 4 found favour with Larsen
& Toubro, MHI and the Appellant, while BGR took recourse to
Route 5. Route 4 contained in Clause 7.4.0 relates to
Indian Joint Venture Companies for manufacturing of Super
Critical Steam Generators in India between an Indian Company
and a Qualified Steam Generator Manufacturer. For the sake
of reference, Clauses 7.4.1 and 7.4.2 which formed part of
Route 4 are extracted hereinbelow :-
"7.4.0 Route 4 : Indian Joint Venture (JV) Company
for manufacturing of Super Critical Steam
Generator in India between an Indian Company
and a Qualified Steam Generator Manufac-turer
7.4.1 The Bidder shall be a Joint Venture (JV)
Company incorporated in India under the
Companies Act 1956 of India, as on the date
of techno-commercial bid opening, promoted by
(i) an Indian Company registered in India
under the Companies Act 1956 of India and
(ii) a Qualified Steam Generator Manufacturer
meeting requirements of clause 7.1.1, created
for the purpose of manufacturing in India
supercritical steam generator sets covering
the type, size and rating specified. If the
JV Company is incorporated as a public
limited Company then it should have obtained
certificate for Commencement of Business in
India as on the date of techno-commercial bid
opening.
The Qualified Steam Generator Manu-facturer
shall maintain a minimum equity participation
of 26% in the JV Company for a lock-in period
of 7 years from the date of incorporation of
JV Company or up to the end of defect
liability period of the contract whichever is
later.
One of the promoters shall be a majority
stakeholder who shall maintain a minimum
equity partici-pation of 51% in the JV
Company for a lock in period of 7 years from
the date of incorporation of JV Company or up
to the end of defect liability period of the
contract whichever is later.
In the event that the majority stake holder
in the JV Company is an entity other than the
Qualified Steam Generator Manufacturer, it
should be an Indian Company and should have
executed, in the last 10 years, large
industrial projects on EPC basis (with or
without civil works) in the area of power,
steel, oil & gas, petrochemical, fertilizer
and/or any other process industry with the
total value of such projects being
Rs.10,000/- million or more. At least one of
such projects should have a contract value of
Rs.4,000/- million or more. These projects
shall be in successful operation for a period
of not less than one year as on the date of
techno-commercial bid opening.
7.4.2 The Bidder shall furnish a DJU executed by
him, the Qualified Steam Generator
Manufacturer and other JV promoter having 25%
or higher equity participation in the JV
Company, in which all the executants of DJU
shall be jointly and severally liable to the
Employer for successful performance of
contract as per the format enclosed in the
bidding documents. The joint deed of
undertaking shall be submitted along with
techno-commercial bid, failing which the
Bidder shall be disqualified and his bid
shall be rejected.
In case of award, each promoter having 25% or
higher equity participation in the JV Company
will be required to furnish an on demand bank
guarantee for an amount of 0.5% of the total
contract price of the Steam Generator Package
in addition to the contract performance
security to be furnished by the Bidder."
6. As mentioned hereinbefore, the bid filed by the
Respondent No.1 was rejected by the Appellant by its letter
dated 5th January, 2011, as the same did not fulfil the
qualifying requirements of Route 4, extracted hereinabove.
7. Appearing for the Appellant, the learned Attorney
General, Mr. Goolam E. Vahanvati, submitted that Clause
7.1.1 prescribes the basic qualifying requirements for a
Qualified Steam Generator Manufacturer and the same is
applicable to all the routes permitted under the bidding
documents, irrespective of the route which the Bidder would
opt for, for seeking qualification. For the sake of
convenience, Clause 7.1.1 is reproduced hereinbelow :-
"7.1.1 The Bidder should have designed,
engineered
,
manufactured/got manufactured,
erected/supervised erection, commissioned/
supervised commissioning of at least one (1) number
of coal fired supercritical Steam Generator having
rated capacity of 1500 tonnes of steam per hour or
above. Further, such Steam generator should be of
the type specified, i.e. single pass (tower type) or
two pass type using either spiral wound (inclined)
or vertical plain or vertical rifled type water wall
tubing, and should be in successful operation for a
period of not less than one (1) year as on the date
of Techno-commercial bid opening. In addition, the
above Steam Generator should have been provided with
evaporator suitable for variable pressure operation
(sub-critical and supercritical pressure ranges).
The Bidder shall offer only the type of Steam
Generator and type of water wall tubing for which he
is qualified."
8. The learned Attorney General submitted that Clause 7.1.1
is identical to Clause 1.1.2 of Item No.4 of Section III of
the Tender Documents and under Clause 1.4.1 it has been
clearly mentioned that the requirements of Clause 1.1.1 had
to be met. The learned Attorney General urged that in view
of Clause 7.1.1, the Bidder must have "designed" and
"engineered" the entire Steam Generator himself and the same
could not be outsourced. Accordingly, once it is submitted
that a Steam Generator is to be designed by the Qualified
Steam Generator Manufacturer itself, all the integral parts
of the Steam Generator like the furnace (evaporator),
Superheaters 1, 2 and 3, Reheaters 1 and 2, connecting
piping etc., have to be designed and engineered by the said
manufacturer himself. The learned Attorney General also
urged that Clause 7.1.1, however, permitted the manufacture,
erection or commissioning to be outsourced by the Qualified
Steam Generator Manufacturer, in view of the expressions
used, such as, "got manufactured", "supervised erection" and
"supervised commissioning".
9. The learned Attorney General also contended that Clause
7.1.1 also categorically states that the Steam Generator
would have to be provided with an evaporator suitable for
variable pressure operation (emphasis added). It was
submitted that an evaporator is an integral and one of the
most critical parts of any Supercritical Steam Generator. It
was further urged that if the evaporator was not designed
for variable pressure operation, conditions in Note 5 of the
Notes in Clause 1.0.0 of the Bid documents would have to be
complied with. For the sake of reference, Note 5 is
reproduced hereinbelow :-
"Steam Generator Manufacturer with Technology Tie-up
for Variable Pressure Design
In case a supercritical Steam Generator manufacturer
meets all the requirements as specified in clause
no. 1.1.1 above except that the evaporator in the
reference steam generator is not designed for
variable pressure operation and is designed for
constant pressure (Universal Pressure) operation
only, in such case, the Supercritical Steam
Generator Manufacturer has an ongoing license
agreement (which covers technology transfer), as on
the date of Techno-commercial bid opening, with the
original Technology Owner (Licensor) for design,
manufacture, sell, use, service of once through
variable pressure supercritical steam generator
technology (with evaporator suitable for variable
pressure operation in sub-critical pressure ranges).
i. The licensor should have experience of
providing such variable pressure design steam
generator technology for at lease one (1) no.
of coal fired supercritical steam generator for
a 1500 T/hr or higher capacity using either
spiral wound (inclined) or vertical plain or
vertical rifled type water wall tubing with the
evaporator suitable for variable pressure
operation in sub-critical and super-critical
pressure ranges and which should be in
successful operation for a period of not less
than one (1) year as on the date of bid opening.
ii. The Bidder shall offer only the type of steam
generator i.e. single pass (tower type) or two
pass type for which the Bidder is qualified and
shall offer only the type of water wall tubing
(either spiral wound (inclined) or vertical
plain or vertical rifled type) for which his
licensor is qualified.
iii. In
such an event, the Bidder shall furnish a
Deed of Joint Undertaking executed between the
Bidder and the supercritical steam generator
manufac-turer (as the case may be) and its
Technology Owner (Licensor), as per the format
enclosed in the Bidding Documents towards the
Bidder and the licensor being jointly and
severally liable to the Employer for successful
performance of the Steam Generator along with
an extended warranty of at least one (1) year
over and above what is required as per tender
documents.
iv. In case of award, Technology Owner (Licensor)
will be required to furnish an on demand bank
guarantee for an amount of 0.1% of the total
contract price of the Steam Generator Package
in addition to the contract perfor-mance
security to be furnished by the Bidder."
10. In addition to the above, the learned Attorney General
submitted that in the event the provisions of Note 5 were to
be followed, it would be necessary for the Bidder to provide
a Deed of Joint Undertaking to be executed between the
Bidder, the proposed Qualified Steam Generator Manufacturer,
who possessed the experience of designing and engineering a
Steam Generator with evaporator suitable for constant
pressure operation. The very reason for the furnishing of a
Deed of Joint Undertaking was to make the technology owner
responsible for the successful operation of the plant along
with the Bidder. It was submitted that only when such an
undertaking was given by the licensor and the Qualified
Steam Generator Manufacturer that the Bidder would be
eligible for being considered as being qualified to
participate in the bidding process. The learned Attorney
General submitted that despite the fact that the Respondent
No.1 had taken recourse to Note No.5 and the bid of the
Respondent was non-responsive, no Deed of Joint Undertaking
had been furnished by the Respondent. On the other hand, in
the bid submitted by the Respondent No.1, it had been
mentioned in Clause 1.2.0 that the evaporator in the
reference Steam Generator, which was supplied to Enel, was
for variable pressure operation. The Respondent claimed to
have designed and engineered the reference Steam Generator,
but when it came to the actual confirmation in reference to
the experience, it was indicated as follows :-
1.5.0 We, confirm that M/s ANSALDO CALDAIE S.p.A.
(Qualified Steam Generator Manufacturer) meets
all the requirement as per 1.1.1 of BDS except
that the evaporator indicated in the reference
steam generator is not designed for variable
pressure operation and is designed for constant
pressure (Universal Pressure) operation only
and seeking qualification along with the
original technology owner (Licensor) from which
he has an ongoing license agreement (which
covers technology transfer), as on the date of
Techno-commercial bid opening, for design,
manufacture, sell, use, service of once through
variable pressure supercritical steam generator
technology (with evaporator suitable for
variable pressure operation in sub-critical and
supercritical pressure ranges).
Further we confirm that original technology
owner (Licensor) had experience of providing
variable pressure design steam generator
technology for at least one (1) no. of coal
fired supercritical steam generator technology
for at least one (1) no. of coal fired
supercritical steam generator for a 1500 T/hr
or higher capacity using either spiral wound
(inclined) or vertical plain or vertical rifled
typed water wall tubing with the evaporator
suitable for variable pressure operation in
sub-critical and super-critical pressure ranges
and which should be in successful operation for
a period of not less than one (1) year as on
the date of techno commercial bid opening. The
detail of Licensor and his experience detail
are as follows:"
11. The learned Attorney General submitted that it was,
therefore, clear that the evaporator for the Steam
Generator, which the Respondent No.1 had agreed to provide,
had not been designed for variable pressure operation and,
accordingly, the experience of the licensor was relied upon.
Furthermore, the Deed of Joint Undertaking referred to in
Clause 1.01.00 was left blank, and Clause 1.6.0 which
included the reference to the Deed of Joint Undertaking was
expressly and consciously scored off. It was submitted that
the failure to furnish the said undertaking made the bid of
the Respondent No.1 completely non-responsive.
12. In support of his aforesaid submissions, the learned
Attorney General submitted that the crucial aspects of the
case are :-
(i) Did the tender contemplate that the Evaporator is
something separate from the Steam Generator?
(ii) Is the Evaporator not an integral part of the Steam
Generator?
(iii) Could the Evaporator, if the tender contemplated
that the Evaporator could be manufactured by a third
party, be manufactured by a third party?
(iv) Did Ansaldo Caldaie indicate that the Evaporator
would be supplied by it after having it manufactured
by a third party?
13. The learned Attorney General submitted that as far as
the first two questions are concerned, the Evaporator was
very much an integral part of the Steam Generator and as far
as the third and fourth questions are concerned, the
Attorney General submitted that the answer was in the
negative.
14. Learned Attorney General contended that the Respondent
No.1 was ineligible to compete in the bid, since it did not
satisfy one of the critical conditions of the tender
document. It was submitted that in order to be eligible, a
Bidder had to satisfy the conditions contained in Clause
7.1.1 of the Memorandum of Understanding, hereinafter
referred to as `MOU'. Although, manufacturing, erection or
commissioning of the Steam Generator could be outsourced,
the "designing" and "engineering" of the Steam Generator had
to be done by the Bidder himself. The learned Attorney
General submitted that if the party proposed as Qualified
Steam Generator Manufacturer by the Bidder had not designed
or engineered the Steam Generator himself, he could not be
said to have met the qualifying requirements stipulated for
a Qualified Steam Generator Manufacturer and consequently,
the Bidder could not also be said to have fulfilled the
requirements relating to meeting the minimum qualification
requirements for his bid to be accepted. The learned
Attorney General submitted that the evidence on record
clearly indicated that the Respondent No.1 had not designed
or engineered the entire Steam Generator and that it
transpired that in response to queries raised by the
Appellant to Enel, the reference station owner had indicated
that the work had been split up between the Respondent No.1
and BHK, but executed the contract for the reference station
as part of a consortium. The detailed break-up which was
provided, indicated that the Respondent No.1 had not done
the designing and engineering of the boiler walls furnace.
It was submitted that the failure to design and/or engineer
the critical parts of the Steam Generator was fatal for
qualification as a Qualified Steam Generator Manufacturer
and hence the bid submitted by the Respondent No.1 had to be
rejected.
15. The learned Attorney General submitted that there were
various contradictions and inconsistencies in the bid
submitted by the Respondent No.1 and while, on the one hand,
it was mentioned that the reference Steam Generator was
provided with evaporator suitable for variable pressure
operation within sub-critical and super critical pressure
ranges, it was also indicated in another part of the Tender
Documents that the evaporator indicated in the reference
Steam Generator was not designed for variable pressure
operation, but for constant pressure operation. It was
submitted that the said condition being one of the
fundamental conditions of the bid, it could not be held to
be substantially responsive.
16. The learned Attorney General submitted that the High
Court had not applied itself to these aspects of the matter,
which were essential in nature and had proceeded on the
assumption that the bid of the Respondent No.1 was in order
and that the rejection of the bid of the Respondent No.1 was
liable to be quashed.
17. On behalf of the Respondent No.1 it was submitted by Mr.
Mukul Rohatgi, learned Senior Advocate, that the Respondent
No.1 Company is an Indian Company jointly promoted by Gammon
India Limited and Ansaldo Caldaie S.p.A., Italy, who has
been in the business of manufacturing, designing, erecting
and commissioning of boilers since 1853 and is a world
leader in the manufacture of Supercritical Steam Generators
and had engineered, designed and manufactured 24
Supercritical boilers with capacity of 1500 Tonnes of Steam
per hour and above. Mr. Rohatgi submitted that the
Respondent No.1 Company had installed boilers of various
types all over the world and it also has a significant
presence in India since 1960. Included amongst its major
projects within India, are :-
(i) 3 x 200 MW for NTPC at Ramagundam, Andhra Pradesh,
which was installed in 1980 and has been operating
successfully since its installation;
(ii) 2 x 500 MW for NTPC, Farakkha in West Bengal, which
has been in operation since 1992;
(iii) 230 MW at Smalkot for BSES, which was commissioned
in 1999; and
(iv) 2 x 210 MW at Neyvelli Lignite Corporation at Tamil
Nadu, which was the first of its kind in the State.
It was submitted that the consortium, of which the
Respondent No.1 was a part, has the distinction of being the
second largest company involved in the installation of
boilers in India after Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL).
18. Mr. Rohatgi submitted that the Respondent No.1 has vast
experience in working with Steam Generators and was fully
eligible to compete in the bids relating to Clause 7.4 of
the detailed information for bids, which stipulated that the
qualification of the Qualified Steam Generator Manufacturer
would be considered if it owned at least 26% of the equity
of the Bidder as per Clause 7.1.1. Accordingly, Respondent
No.1 submitted its performance certificate. Mr. Rohatgi
submitted that the Respondent No.1 submitted the Performance
Certificate issued to Ansaldo Caldaie by Anel Tower for
Torranvaldaliga Nord Power Plant, to the Appellant to
support its eligibility for participating in the Bid.
19. Mr. Rohatgi submitted that there were four Bidders,
including the Respondent No.1, but ultimately on 5th January,
2011, the Respondent No.1 was informed that his technical
bid had been rejected on the ground that it did not meet the
qualification criteria. The Bank Guarantee furnished by the
Respondent No.1 was returned to him. In the meantime, the
Writ Petition filed by the Respondent, (WP (C) No.296 of
2011), came up for hearing on 17th January, 2011, when it was
withdrawn with liberty to file a fresh petition based on the
fact that the Respondent No.1 had in the interregnum period
received the rejection letter dated 5th January, 2011, issued
by the Appellant.
20. Mr. Rohatgi submitted that Clause 7.1.1 and Clause 7.4
clearly reflected the mind of the Bidder. Learned counsel
urged that the use of the expression "provided" in dealing
with the capability of the Bidder to deal with variable
pressures merely indicated that the Steam Generator
Manufacturer would have to provide technical tie-up for
variable pressure design and in the absence of the same, the
bid submitted would still qualify for being considered. It
was urged that the use of the expression "provided" would
have to be read along with the phrase "designed, engineered,
manufactured/got manufactured" etc. The further usage of the
words "in addition" indicated that the stipulation regarding
the provision of an evaporator suitable for variable
pressure operation was an additional, ancillary and
peripheral requirement and not integral to the type of Steam
Generator contemplated. Mr. Rohatgi urged that the
submission made on behalf of the Appellant to the contrary
was incorrect since it had been in no uncertain terms
submitted that in the bid document and in the pleadings
before the High Court and this Court noted that the
evaporator provided with the Steam Generator at the
reference plant at TNP was suitable for variable pressure
operation.
21. It was submitted that the entire basis of the case made
out by the Appellant was, therefore, non-est and the High
Court did not commit any error in allowing the Writ Petition
filed by the Respondents.
22. There is no dispute that the Respondent No.1 chose Route
4 while submitting its Tender Bid, in its capacity as an
Indian Joint Venture Company for manufacturing Super-
Critical Steam Generator in India between an Indian Company
and a Qualified Steam Generator Manufacturer. The crucial
condition for a Bidder of the said category to be considered
is contained in Clause 7.1.1 of the Tender Documents, which
has been extracted hereinbefore and provides that the Bidder
should have designed, engineered, manufactured/got
manufactured, erected/ supervised direction,
commissioned/supervised commissioning of at least one Steam
Generator having rated capacity of 1500 Tonnes of Steam per
hour or above and that it should be provided with an
Evaporator suitable for variable pressure operations for
special category and supercritical pressure ranges.
23. The controversy which led to the rejection of the
Technical Bid of the Respondent No.1 was with regard to the
question as to whether in the case of a Joint Venture
Undertaking it was essential that the Qualified Steam
Generator Manufacturer also had to be the manufacturer of
the evaporator or whether it could function as a
facilitator. Furthermore, what appears to have weighed with
the Appellant in rejecting the Technical Bid of the
Respondent No.1 was that the Steam Generator had been
designed for constant pressure and not variable pressure, as
required by the Appellant.
24. Admittedly, the evaporator is an integral part of the
Steam Generator. The question is whether the same could not
be manufactured by a third party and supplied to the
Qualified Steam Generator Manufacturer for use in the
boiler. Although, the said proposition has been hotly
contested on behalf of the Respondent, an attempt was also
made to show that the evaporator was in fact designed for
variable pressure, but such a submission was contrary to the
confirmation given by the Respondent No.1 which indicated
that the evaporator had been designed for Constant Pressure
(Universal Pressure) operation only. The MOU, while
permitting manufacturing, erection or commissioning of the
Steam Generator, provided that the same could be outsourced,
but the "designing" and "engineering" of the Steam Generator
had to be done by the Bidder himself and if the party
proposed as Qualified Steam Generator Manufacturer and the
Bidder had not designed and engineered the Steam Generator
itself, it could not be said that the qualifying
requirements for such manufacturer had been satisfied.
25. From the terms and conditions contained in the MOU, it
appears to us that it was the intention of the Appellant
that the Qualified Steam Generator Manufacturer would have
to be the manufacturer of the evaporator itself and could
not have outsourced the manufacture thereof to a third
party, since the evaporator controlling the pressure of the
Steam generated is a vital and crucial component of the
Steam Generator itself. The Appellant, which will be the
ultimate user of the Generator, must be presumed to be
conscious of the competence of the tenderer to "provide" the
evaporator in keeping with the required specifications.
26. In the aforesaid context, we are unable to uphold the
decision of the Division Bench of the Delhi High Court
quashing the letter dated 5th January, 2011, issued by the
Appellant herein, informing the Respondent No.1 that its
Techno-commercial Bid had been rejected on the ground that
it did not meet the minimum requirement set forth in item
No.4 of Section III of the Tender Documents. The High Court
while interpreting the provisions of Clause 7.1.1 of the
Tender Documents was influenced by the use of the phrase
"manufactured/got manufactured" while considering the fact
that although, Ansaldo Caldaie, Italy, was being projected
as the Qualified Steam Generator Manufacturer, Siemens A.G.
was shown as the technology owner/licensor of the evaporator
which was offered by the Respondent No.1. In other words,
the evaporator being offered by the Respondent No.1 was one
which had been manufactured not by the Qualified Steam
Generator Manufacturer, but by a third party, which was not
contemplated in the aforesaid condition of the Tender
Documents.
27. The importance of the above condition is manifested in
the functioning of the Steam Generator which handles High
Pressure Steam for the purpose of turning the turbines for
generating electricity. The design and engineering of the
evaporator and the boiler itself has to be such as to
withstand the very high temperatures and pressures
generated. The importance of the variable pressure
operations is of great importance as far as generation and
wastage of energy is concerned. The importance of the
evaporator in controlling pressure during operations is to
automatically regulate the flow of water, generation of
pressure and temperature of the steam to the desired level.
28. In that view of the matter, we allow the Appeal and set
aside the impugned judgment of the Division Bench of the
High Court allowing the Writ Petition filed by the
Respondent No.1. The Writ Petition filed by the Respondent
No.1, therefore, stands dismissed.
29. There shall, however, be no order as to costs.
......................................................J.
(ALTAMAS KABIR)
New Delhi ......................................................J.
Dated: 16.02.2012 (J. CHELAMESWAR)