Technip Energies India Ltd v. The Union of India and 3 Ors

ORDER Date : 13-06-2023 Heard Mr. D. Das, learned Senior Counsel assisted by Mr. A. Khanna, learned counsel for the applicant; Mr. N. Deka, learned counsel for the opposite party-respondent no. 2; and Dr. A. Saraf, learned Senior Counsel for the opposite party-respondent no. 3.

¶2The instant interlocutory application has arisen out of a writ petition, W.P.[C] no. 96/2023. The writ petition, W.P.[C] no. 96/2023 was preferred by the applicant as the writ petitioner, challenging an order of the respondent Numaligarh Refinery Limited [NRL], whereby its price bid was rejected. The bidding process is for a contract-work : Development of Reactor and Regenerator [RXRG Package] for Numaligarh Refinery Expansion Project [NERP], issued by the respondent no. 2 through the respondent no. 3.

¶3After hearing the learned counsel for the parties, the judgment in the writ petition, W.P.[C] no. 96/2023 has been reserved on 04.04.2023 and the judgment is yet to be delivered. Page No. 3/3

¶4It is apposite to mention that on 30.01.2023, it was ordered, in the interim, by the Court while declining the prayer for interim relief prayed by the applicant-petitioner, that the bidding process for the contract-work challenged in the writ petition, shall be subject to further orders of the Court.

¶4In this interlocutory application, it is averred that when the judgment in the writ petition is yet to be delivered, the respondent NRL has concluded with the bidding process by issuing a Letter of Acceptance [LoA] to the purported successful bidder on 08.06.2023. The said fact has not been denied by Mr. Deka, leaned counsel representing the respondent NRL. It is submitted by the learned counsel for the respondent NRL that the issuance of LoA is in conformity with the interim order dated 30.01.2023. Mr. Deka, learned counsel representing the respondent NRL though has sought for an opportunity to file an objection while admitting the fact of issuance of the LoA on 08.06.2023, the said prayer is declined at this stage. It prima facie appears that with the issuance of LoA on 08.06.2023, which is passed before the judgment is pronounced in the writ petition, the bidding process for the subject-plot has been brought to a conclusion by selection of the successful bidder. In such obtaining fact situation, this Court is of the considered view that the respondent NRL authorities shall not take any further action on the basis of such LoA.

¶6With the aforesaid observation, the interlocutory application is disposed of.

JUDGE Comparing Assistant

PageoNo.o1/3 GAHC010128492023 ooooooo ooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooTHEoGAUHATIoHIGHoCOURTo (HIGHoCOURToOFoASSAM,oNAGALAND,oMIZORAMoANDoARUNACHALoPRADESH)o CaseoNo.o:oI.A.(Civil)/1646/2023o TECHNIPoENERGIESoINDIAoLTD.o (FORMERLYoTECHNIPoINDIAoLIMITED),o THROUGHoITSoAUTHORIZEDoREPRESENTATIVE,o PRASHAToSHARMA,o S/O-oBRIJoMOHANoSHARMA,o HAVINGoITSoOFFICEoAToTECHNIPoTOWER,o A-4,oSECTOR-1,o NOIDA,oUTTARoPRADESH-o201301. VERSUSo THEoUNIONoOFoINDIAoANDo3oORS.o THROUGHoMINISTRYoOFoPETROLEUMoANDoNATURALoGAS,oA-WING,o SHASTRIoRAJENDRAoPRASADoROAD,o110001,oAZADoBHAWANoRD,oIPo ESTATE,oNEWoDELHI,oDELHI-o110002 2:NUMALIGARHoREFINERYoLIMITED oTHROUGHoITSoMANAGINGoDIRECTOR oHAVINGoITSoREGISTEREDoOFFICEoATo122A oG.S.oROAD oCHRISTIANoBASTI oGUWAHATI-o781005oANDoALSOoHAVINGoOFFICEoAToGOLAGHAT oNUMALIGARH oASSAM o785699 3:M/SoTHYSSENKRUPPoINDUSTRIALoSOLUTIONSo(INDIA)oPRIVATEo LIMITED oTHROUGHoITSoPROJECToPROCUREMENToMANAGER oSUSHANToDESHPANDE/oAMARoSONSALE oUHDEoHOUSE oLBSoMARGoVIKHROLIo(WEST) oMUMBAI-o400083 oINDIA Page No. 2/3 4:G.R. ENGINEERING PROJECTS PRIVATE LIMITED THROUGH GR ENGINEERING PROJECTS PVT. LTD. 366 DDA FLAT BADARPUR NEW DELHI 110044. (INCORRECTLY INCORPORATED IN WP(C)/96/2023) HAVING CORRECT ADDRESS AT - HAVING REGISTERED OFFICE AT POONAM CHAMBERS A-WING 2ND FLOOR DR. A.B. ROAD WORLI MUMBAI-400018 MAHARASHTR Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. D DAS SR. ADV Advocate for the Respondent : DY.S.G.I. BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MANISH CHOUDHURY