Non-Bidder PILs – Not Maintainable – Amounts to Proxy Litigation.
Judgment dated 26.9.2025 of the High Court of Bombay in PIL No.100 of 2024 of Rajesh Sharma Vs. State of Maharashtra and others
PIL Challenging NIT for Thermal Power and Solar Power Procurement
On 13.3.2024, the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd issued NIT for composite bid of 1600 MW Thermal Power and 5000 MW solar power to be evaluated through competitive bidding process.
On 30.6.2024, the bidders were intimated through Addendum No.15 that they had an option to give composite bid for half of published capacity.
This was challenged in PIL writ petition by the petitioner who was not the bidder to the tender.
HELD that the laws regulating the award of tender developed with avowed object to bring greater transparency in administrative decisions but, over a period of time, a larger number of decisions came to be challenged by way of proxy litigation.
The stark reality today is that unsuccessful party or even the one who did not participate in the bid approaches the Court and almost all tenders are challenged.
The writ Court cannot interfere with the decision of the Executive even where some procedural compliance is not ensured. This cannot be a legal ground to entertain a writ petition labeled as a public interest litigation that the necessary approvals were not obtained before proceeding to issue and publish the NIT.
Mere injury to a bidder who lost the race is not a ground to interfere with the decision of the tendering committee and the aggrieved bidder may have a remedy in the Civil Court.
