Micky Traders Vs L.R.Y. Labour Contractor & Ors. (Supreme Court of India)
Highest Bid Cannot Buy Eligibility: Revenue Advantage Cannot Cure Tender Disqualification—Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has held that a higher financial bid cannot compensate for the bidder’s failure to satisfy an essential eligibility condition. Financial bids can be compared only among bidders who are otherwise eligible to compete. Revenue considerations cannot cure ineligibility or permit a public authority to dilute a mandatory experience requirement in favour of the highest bidder.
Facts of the Case
The Market Committee, Ludhiana, issued a Detailed Notice Inviting Tender on 13.02.2026 for recovery and realisation of user charges from retail and other vehicles using Mandi infrastructure. The contract period was 12 months, from 01.04.2026 to 31.03.2027, and the reserve price was fixed at approximately ₹12.21 crore per annum.
Micky Traders emerged as the highest bidder with an offer of approximately ₹16.51 crore, while L.R.Y. Labour Contractor submitted the second-highest bid of approximately ₹15.03 crore.
Under the Punjab State Agricultural Marketing Board’s Instructions for Enlistment of Contractor Firms, a bidder was required to produce completion certificates demonstrating successful execution of the annual work of collecting user charges or parking fees in a Government, Semi-Government or PSU organisation during the last two years up to 31.12.2025.
