Tender condition relaxation in contract awards is upheld where the decision is reasonable, commercial, and non-arbitrary.

Tender conditions may be relaxed where the document expressly authorises relaxation in the corporation's overall interest, and the evaluation process shows a reasonable basis for doing so. In this matter, the committee noted ambiguity about the surveyor or loss assessor licence, accepted that one bidder's chairman held the relevant licence, and treated qualification of both bidders as preferable to a single-bidder situation. The decision was also supported by the commercial nature of the contract, where most work was data entry and no IRDA licence was needed for that component. Judicial review under Article 226 in tender matters remains confined to checking arbitrariness, irrationality, bias, or public-interest violation.

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Issues: Whether the tender condition requiring a copy of a surveyor or loss assessor licence under the Insurance Act, 1938 could be relaxed in the circumstances of the case, and whether the High Court was justified in interfering under Article 226 of the Constitution of India with the award of the contract.

Analysis: The tender document expressly permitted CONCOR to relax tender conditions in the overall interest of the corporation and trade. The technical evaluation committee found ambiguity regarding the licence, noted that the appellant's chairman held the relevant licence, and, to avoid a single-bidder situation, recommended qualification of both bidders. The contract was also a commercial decision in which 98% of the work was data entry, for which no IRDA licence was required. Judicial review in tender matters is limited to examining the decision-making process and does not permit the Court to substitute its own view for that of the competent authority unless the decision is arbitrary, irrational, biased, or contrary to public interest.

Conclusion: The licence condition could validly be relaxed on the facts, and the High Court was not justified in setting aside the award of contract.

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