Lowest bidder not necessarily entitled to grant of tender

Delhi High Court in the matter of Inderjit Mehta Vs Union of India; WP (C ) 683/2017 decided on 2^nd March, 2017 held there is no vested right of a participant in a tender to have an agreement of award concluded in its favour. There cannot be any insistence for carrying on with the tender on the ground that a particular participant was adjudged as the lowest tenderer. All that can be demanded and be ensured to a tenderer is that he is given a fair, equal and non discriminatory treatment in the matter of evaluation of his tender.

A decision to cancel the tender process can in no way be said to be discriminatory or malafide if reasonable grounds are provided for recalling the same. In matters of award of contracts, an employer or an agency inviting the tender is required to act reasonably and fairly at all points of time. To that extent, a tenderer can question the decision of the employer in a Court of law but cannot be permitted to question the merits of the decision.