Sindh High Court (SHC) has been moved to restrain police department from opening the bids and processing the procurement of desktop computers in a particular tender. M/s Faez Scientific Company filed a suit in SHC against Sindh Police, in which it stated that police vide Reference No. INF-KRY.No.5302/19 dated 24.09.2019, had invited sealed bids for the procurement of desktop computers, laptops, laser printers, color printers and scanners. The same tender advertisement was also available at the Sindh Public Procurement Regulatory Authority's website.
Plaintiff contended that the procurement process was supposed to be an open competitive bidding consisting of a single stage - two envelope procedure, as defined under Clause 36(b) of the Public Procurement Rules, 2004 ("PPRA Rules"). IG Sindh and Assistant Inspector General of Police, (Logistics) along with others have been made defendants in the suit. However, to the plaintiff's utter dismay, and only to cause prejudice and detriment to it, the requirement for the desktop computers to be of "an international brand" was added.
Plaintiff submitted that addition of these words in the tender specifications with malicious intent and only to cause prejudice and harm to the plaintiff so that it may be disqualified from participating in the tendering process for the desktop computers. Plaintiff pleaded the court to declare and strike down the terms, conditions and specifications in the tender for procurement of Desktop Computers bearing Tender Notice No. INF-KRY.No.5302/19 dated 24.09.2019 and any subsequent award of contract (if any) in relation to the same as being illegal, unlawful, void ab initio, unfair, and discriminatory.
It also requested the court to declare that the plaintiff is legally and lawfully entitled to have his bid for desktop computers considered regardless of the illegal, unlawful, void ab initio, unfair, discriminatory terms, conditions and specifications, which have been incorporated in the tender with malice and mala fides. It also prayed the court to declare that the procurement of the desktop computers through the Tender Notice No. INF-KRY.No.5302/19 should be a single stage single envelope process as opposed to a single stage two envelope process.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2019