Tender condition – Joint Venture not allowed – Whether Partnership Firm is Joint Venture
On 7.9.2024 – E-tender was issued for door-to-door collection and transportation of Municipal Solid Waste upto the disposal / treatment site for Bhiwandi Nizampur City for three years period.
Clause 2.4 provided that “No joint Venture and subcontracting will be allowed”.
However, a LLP or partnership or private limited company individually can apply for the bid.
On 29.9.2024, the petitioner no.1 is a private limited company and the petitioner no.2 is LLP. They have formed partnership and applied for the tender work as per the partnership deed.
The tender of the petitioners was rejected on the ground that the document of partnership deed presented by them is in the nature of Joint Venture and therefore, it is not eligible as per the tender condition.
HELD that tender prohibits participation of joint venture. The petitioner No.1 and the Petitioner No.2 constitutes partnership firm under the Partnership Act is hardly of any relevance because the tender permits a partnership firm or LLP individually to bid but what is prohibited is a joint venture. The interpretation of the Corporation that the bid jointly submitted by the partnership firm and a private limited company has to be regarded as joint venture is not perverse.
Judgment dated 30.4.2025 of the Division Bench of the High Court of Bombay in Writ Petition No.17090 of 2024 of M/s. Barkat Contractors Pvt Ltd and another Vs. Bhiwandi Nizampur City Municipal Corporation and others
