In Brief
The Border Road Organisation invited bids for a tunnel construction project estimated at Rs. 1,504.64 crores. The appellant mistakenly bid Rs. 1,569 instead of Rs. 1,569 crores—a patent clerical error—and promptly sought withdrawal upon discovery. The Authority refused to withdraw the bid and eventually forfeited the appellant's Rs. 15.04-crore bank guarantee. The Supreme Court held that while the appellant was at fault for the error, relief in equity was warranted because the mistake was self-evident and promptly communicated before contract execution. The Court directed the appellant to pay Rs. 1 crore as a consequence of the error, after which the Authority must return the full bank guarantee, rejecting the entire forfeiture as disproportionate.
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