The Bombay High Court has dismissed a PIL challenging the Government Resolution of June 24, 2022 on the ground that the same was in violation of Article 46 of the Constitution.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Madhav J. Jamdar found no reason to entertain the petition for more reasons than one.
First, no petition was maintainable for enforcement of the Directive Principles of a State Policy.
Secondly, not a single intending bidder who could justifiably claim to be prejudiced by the reason of enforcement of the GR dated June 24, 2022 had come before the High Court.
“If indeed the said GR seeks to curtail any rights of a bidder to participate in the tender process, such bidder is free to approach the Court. It is not that any aggrieved bidder is disabled from approaching the Court. There being no complaint from any bidder in regard to the terms of the said GR, the concern expressed by the petitioner that several bidders would lose out on participating in the tenders appears to us to be imaginary,” the Court observed.
Thirdly, the Court observed that the petitioner claimed to be a social activist. He was neither interested to participate in the tenders, nor remotely connected with the tendering process.
The Bench held that the petitioner has no locus standi to institute a litigation in public interest.