Rajesh Praful Chordiya Vs State of Maharashtra And Others (Bombay High Court)
The petition before the Bombay High Court challenged a communication dated 22 November 2025 issued by the District Collector, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, by which the petitioner’s technical bid in a tender process was rejected. The tender related to providing pandals, furniture, and ancillary articles on rent for the upcoming Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti Elections of 2025. The petitioner sought quashing of the rejection, acceptance of his bid, and also moved applications to bring subsequent events on record and to change the nomenclature of the petitioner. During the process, the financial bid had already been opened and the tender awarded to another bidder, prompting the petitioner to challenge that acceptance as well.
At the outset, the Court referred to the principle laid down by the Supreme Court that a bidder must first establish eligibility before being permitted to challenge the acceptance of another bidder’s tender. The petitioner contended that his technical bid was rejected solely because the GST clearance certificate submitted by him was not issued by the GST Department but was signed by his Chartered Accountant. According to the petitioner, the tender document only required a “GST clearance certificate by the end of March 2025” and did not expressly state that it must be issued by the GST Department. He argued that similar certificates had been accepted in other districts and that despite representations and a hearing request, no effective opportunity was granted before the tender was awarded to another party. Reliance was placed on a Supreme Court decision where rejection of a bid was disapproved because the issuing authority of a required certificate was not specified in the tender conditions.
