In a big setback for Tata Motors, the Supreme Court dismissed its plea challenging an order of the Bombay High Court which upheld the decision of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) to disqualify it from a tender process for supplying 1,400 electric buses worth Rs 2,450 crore, saying the vehicle manufacturer deviated from the material and essential term of the tender.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said it is not in dispute that the first and the foremost requirement of the tender was the prescribed operating range of the single decker buses which would operate for around 200 km on a single charge in actual conditions with 80 per cent state of charge without any interruption.
High court has rightly observed in its impugned judgment that the bid of Tata Motors failed to comply with the said clause. Tata Motors deviated from the material and the essential term of the tender, the bench, also comprising Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala said.
The top court also remarked that the high court having once declared Tata Motors as non-responsive and having been disqualified from the tender process should not have entered into the fray of investigating into the decision of BEST to declare Evey Trans Pvt. Ltd. as the eligible bidder.
According to the plea filed by Tata Motors, BEST had published an e-tender notice on February 26, 2022 for two-bid e-tender for the operation of stage carriage services for 1,400 single-decker AC electric buses for Mumbai and its suburbs. Tata Motors had submitted its technical and financial bid on April 25, the plea said.