SHIMNIT UTSCH INDIA PVT. LTD. & ANR. versus WEST BENGAL TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE

Citation: [2010] 6 S.C.R. 1110 · Decided: 12-05-2010 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: R.V. RAVEENDRAN · Disposal: Dismissed

Cited by 3 judgment(s) · see the full citation network in Lexace

Judgment (excerpt)

A 
B 
[2010] 6 S.C.R. 1110 
SHIMNIT UTSCH INDIA PVT. LTD. & ANR. 
v. 
·WEST BENGAL TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE 
DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION LTD. & ORS. 
(Civil Appeal No. 4441 of 2010) 
MAY 12, 2010 
[R.V. RAVEENDRAN, R.M. LODHA AND 
C.K. PRASAD, JJ.] 
C 
Government policy - Alteration/change in policy -
Permissibility - Judicial intervention - Scope of - Held: The 
government has a discretion to adopt a different policy or alter 
or change its policy calculated to serve public interest and 
make it more effective - Where the circumstances changed 
D in some material respects, departure from the earlier policy 
cannot be held to be legally flawed, particularly when there is 
no challenge to the changed policy on the ground of 
Wednesbury reasonableness or principle of legitimate 
expectation or arbitrariness or irrationality- Administrative law 
E -
Principle of legitimate expectation -
Wednesbury 
reasonableness - Judicial review. 
Government contract - Contract for manufacture and 
supply of High Security Registration Plates (HSRP) for motor 
vehicles - Notices Inviting Tenders (N/Ts) issued by various 
F States for award of contract - In Association of Registration 
Plates's case*, conditions of experience in the field of 
registration plates in foreign countries and a minimum annual 
turnover from such business were upheld as essential 
conditions in the NIT - Whether in the light of this decision, it 
G was necessary for the State Governments to continue with 
these conditions or it was permissible for them to do away with 
such conditions - Held: The decision in Association of 
Registration Plates* did not create any impediment for the 
States to alter or modify the conditions in the NIT if the 
H 
1110 
SHIMNIT UTSCH INDIA PVT. LTD. v. W.B. TPT 
1111 
INFRASTRUCTURE DEVE. CORPN. LTD. 
circumstances changed in material respects by lapse of time 
A 
- Though the State or its tendering authority is bound to give 
effect to essential conditions of eligibility stated in a tender 
document and is not entitled to waive such conditions but that 
does not take away its administrative discretion to cancel the 
entire tender process in public• interest provided such action 
B 
is not actuated with ulterior motive or is otherwise not vitiated 
by any vice of arbitrariness or irrationality or in violation of 
some statutory provisions - It is always open to the State to 
give effect to new policy which it wished to pursue keeping in 
view 'overriding public interest' and subject to principles of c 
Wednesbury reasonableness -
Central Motor Vehicles 
Rules, 1989 - r.50 - Motor Vehicles (New High Security 
Registration Plates) Order, 2001 - Motor Vehicles (New High 
Security Registration Plates) [Amendment] Order, 2001. 
In Association of Registration Plates's case*,. the 
D 
conditions of experience in the field of registration plates 
in the foreign countries and a minimum annual turnover 
from such business were upheld by this .Court as 
essential conditions in the Notices Inviting Tenders (NIT) 
for award of contract for manufacture and supply of High 
E 
Security Registration Plates (HSRP) for motor vehicles. 
Except West Bengal and Orissa, all other States 
followed the essential conditions approved by this Court 
in the case of Association of Registration Plates*. The 
said two States issued fresh NITs (second NITs) for 
manufacture and supply of HSRP in respect of motor 
vehicles, in which conditions pertaining to experience in 
foreign countries and the minimum prescribed turhover 
from such business were done away with. 
Before this Court, it was contended by the appellant 
that in Association of Registration Plates*, after 
considering the scheme of HSRP including the 
guidelines issued by the Central Government and the 
conditions in the NIT pertaining to experience in the 
G 
H 
1112 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[2010] 6 S.C.R. 
A foreign countries and the turnover from the said 
business, the Supreme Court had held that these are 
essential conditions of the tender aimed to ensure that 
the manufacturer selected would be technically and 
financially competent to fulfill the contractual obligations 
B keeping in view the magnitude of the job and the huge 
investment required in the project. It was further 
contended that these conditions, having got the seal of 
approval from the Supreme Court, could not have been 
done away with in second NIT, and if for any reason the 
C State Government thought of cancelling the first NI

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