HC dismisses plea against tender notice for catering

Legal Correspondent

Shimla, March 17

The High Court has dismissed a petition challenging a tender notice issued for providing catering services in Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Government Medical College and Hospital, Mandi, at Nerchowk.

Dismissing the petition, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ajay Mohan Goel has observed, “The fact that the petitioners do not have an experience of providing cooked diet services to the indoor patients in a minimum 500-bedded hospitals for the last five years and consequently, they are ineligible to submit bid for the hospital, would not render these conditions per se illegal and arbitrary, more so when conditions are prescribed in public interest and to ensure the best facilities and care to the indoor patients.”

During the course of hearing, Ajay Vaidya, senior Additional Advocate General informed the court that the capacity of the hospital would be 500 beds by March 31 and the same was further likely to be increased to 750 beds.

After hearing both parties, the court dismissed the petition by observing, “Keeping in view the present and estimated capacity of the indoor facilities in the hospital, the eligibility conditions prescribed for the bidder in the tender document per se cannot be held to be arbitrary.”

The petitioners had challenged the tender notice on the ground that the conditions imposed by the state were arbitrary.