TATA MOTORS LIMITED vs THE BRIHAN MUMBAI ELECTRIC

Bench: 3 — Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud, Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha, J. B. Pardiwala

In Brief

TATA Motors and BEST (Mumbai Electric Supply & Transport) disputed the award of a tender for electric buses. BEST required buses to run 200 km in "actual conditions" but TATA Motors bid on "standard test conditions" per AIS 040. The High Court disqualified TATA Motors as non-responsive and also set aside the contract with winning bidder EVEY, citing procedural violations. The Supreme Court upheld TATA Motors' disqualification but reversed the High Court's decision against EVEY. The Court held that EVEY's corrected document was permissible as it was not part of mandatory technical submissions, and no gross procedural violation or mala fides warranted scrapping the contract. Courts should exercise restraint in tender disputes and consider public interest and financial implications.

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Tender Law Contract Administration Judicial Review Public Procurement Commercial Contracts Procedural Fairness Technical Specifications Public Interest Administrative Law Public Sector Undertakings

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