In Brief
Caretel Infotech bid for an HPCL tender and was declared L-1. A competing bidder challenged the award in the Bombay High Court, citing two issues: (1) Caretel had received a show-cause notice for blacklisting from the Ministry of Agriculture (though not yet blacklisted) and allegedly failed to disclose it; and (2) doubts about the validity of Caretel's ISO certificate. The High Court set aside the contract. The Supreme Court allowed Caretel's appeal, holding that a show-cause notice does not trigger disclosure obligations under Clause 20, which covers only completed blacklistings. The Court also held that factual disputes over certificates cannot be resolved in writ proceedings and that courts must defer to the tendering authority's interpretation of tender terms.
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