In Brief
Kimberley Club Pvt. Ltd. participated in a public tender to lease a banquet hall floated by the Krishi Utpadan Mandi Parishad. The tender required bidders to submit a 'Haisiyat Praman Patra' (financial capacity certificate) showing minimum net worth of ₹10 crores. Kimberley Club submitted a valuation certificate from a private architect showing assets exceeding ₹99 crores but the Mandi rejected it, claiming the certificate must be issued by a District Magistrate per a 2018 government notification. The High Court upheld the rejection. The Supreme Court held that the NIT did not specify that the certificate must come from a District Magistrate, and unstated requirements cannot be retrospectively imposed. The Court set aside the rejection and remanded the matter for reconsideration, clarifying that tender terms must be explicit and statutory bodies are not automatically bound by general notifications unless expressly incorporated into tender conditions."
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