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Maha Mineral Mining and Beneficiation Pvt. Ltd. vs Madhya Pradesh Power Generating Company Ltd.

Not available · 2025 INSC 1085Decided 9 Sept 2025
Not available
Justice Surya Kant · Justice Joymalya Bagchi

Background

Madhya Pradesh Power Generating Company Ltd. (MPPGCL) floated a tender for coal beneficiation and logistics for its Khandwa thermal power project. The appellant company bid for the work but was disqualified by the tender evaluation committee because it relied on the past work experience of a joint venture/consortium it was part of, without submitting the actual JV agreement, only a work-execution certificate from a third party confirming its 45% share. The Madhya Pradesh High Court upheld this disqualification and even went further, holding the appellant would have been disqualified on a separate ground (washery capacity) too. The appellant challenged both findings before the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the tender's Clause 5(D) never actually required submission of the JV agreement itself, only proof of past experience and proportionate share, which the appellant's certificate already supplied. Since MPPGCL never doubted the certificate's authenticity, disqualifying the appellant for not producing the JV agreement (a document not expressly demanded by the tender terms) was unjustified, especially when the tender authority had the power to seek clarifications instead of rejecting outright. The Court also held the High Court erred by disqualifying the appellant on the separate washery-capacity ground without giving it a chance to respond, since that point was raised only in written submissions and not by the tender committee itself. The Court set aside the High Court's judgment, restored the appellant's technical bid, and remanded the washery-capacity question for fresh consideration within two months.

Lesson Learnt

Tender conditions must be clear and construed strictly: a bidder cannot be disqualified for failing to produce a document the tender document did not expressly require, and courts/authorities cannot fault a bidder on a new ground it was never given a chance to answer.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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