Madhya Pradesh High Court
M/S Mittal Plastomet Limited vs Madhya Pradesh Vikash Nigam Limited on 27 September, 2025
1 WP-39105-2025
IN THE HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH
AT JABALPUR
BEFORE
HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE SANJEEV SACHDEVA,
CHIEF JUSTICE
&
HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE VINAY SARAF
ON THE 27th OF SEPTEMBER, 2025
WRIT PETITION No. 39105 of 2025
M/S MITTAL PLASTOMET LIMITED
Versus
MADHYA PRADESH VIKASH NIGAM LIMITED AND OTHERS
Appearance:
Shri Rohit Sharma - Advocate for petitioner.
Shri Swapnil Ganguly - Deputy Advocate General with Shri Siddharth
Sharma - Advocate for respondent nos.1 & 2.
ORDER
Per: Hon'ble Shri Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, Chief Justice
1. Petitioner Impugns the technical disqualification letter dated 11.09.2025, whereby the bid of the petitioner has been declared to be non-compliant.
2. Respondent had issued a notice inviting tender for setting up of a grid connection Solar PV based Power Plant (SPP) under Feeder Solarization component of P.M. Kusum scheme for sale of power to MPPMCL (Madhya Pradesh Power Management Company Limited). The petitioner is claimed to be the lead member of a consortium comprising of petitioner i.e. M/s Mittal Plastomet Limited and Absolute Signature Not Verified Signed by: VAISHALI TRIPATHI Signing time: 07-10-2025 11:26:17 2 WP-39105-2025 Project India Limited. The joint venture applied under the category of MSME, (Micro, Small and Medium enterprise) and claimed certain exemptions which were available to MSMEs at the time of submitting their bid. A query was raised on 05.09.2025 by the respondent that MSME certificate was not found under the name of the consortium/joint venture. Admittedly, there was no MSME certificate in the name of the consortium/joint venture. Subsequently, an MSME certificate was generated on 05.09.2025 in the name of consortium/joint venture i.e. Mittal Plastomet Limited plus Absolute Projects India Limited JV Solar MP.
3. Learned counsel for petitioner submits that both the joint venture partners Mittal Plastomet Limited and Absolute Projects India Limited are having MSME certificates and there was no requirement for submission of an MSME certificate in the name of the joint venture. He submits that an MSME certificate in the name of lead partner i.e. Mittal Plastomet Limited was liable to be accepted as the qualifying certificate. He submits that the certificate of M/s Absolute Limited was also uploaded.
4. Per contra, learned counsel appearing for the respondent submits that the tender document mandated that the bidder must have the MSME certificate to avail the exemptions granted to an MSME. He submits that though petitioner was entitled to participate as a non MSME entity, however, since petitioner had participated as an MSME and availed the exemptions, the bid of the petitioner could only Signature Not Verified Signed by: VAISHALI TRIPATHI Signing time: 07-10-2025 11:26:17 3 WP-39105-2025 be considered as an MSME. He submits that since there was no MSME certificate submitted by the joint venture, the bid has been rightly declared to be non-compliant. The reference may be had to certain clauses of the bid document, the bidder has been defined as follows:-
"Bidder(s)"shall mean individual farmers/Group of farmers/ Cooperatives/Panchayats/Farmer Producer Organizations (FPO)/ Water User associations (WUA)/Government agricultural institute/ other agriculture related institutions participating under Self Development Mode or bidding Company/ Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) firm/Partnership Firm/ Sole Proprietor or Consortium in any form of a Company/ LLP/Partnership Firm/ Sole Proprietor submitting the Bid under Developer Mode and is hereinafter also called Renewable Power Generator (RPG). Any reference to the Bidder includes its successors, executors and permitted assigns as the context may require."
5. Then bidding consortium/joint venture, JV has also been defined as under:-
"Bidding Consortium (Consortium) or Joint Venture (JV)" shall refer to a group of bidding Company/ Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) firm/ Partnership Firm/ Sole Proprietor that has collectively made a Bid in response to RFP for the project. Consortium/ JV of a maximum of two entities/ members is allowed under this RFP."
6. The petitioner participated under the Developer mode and submitted its bid as such. The definition of bidding consortium or joint venture shows that it refers to a group of bidding companies that have collectively made a bid in response to the RFP for the project. Further, the definition clause defines MSME as under:-
"MSME(s)" shall means the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, whose place of work and registered office are in the state of Madhya Pradesh Signature Not Verified Signed by: VAISHALI TRIPATHI Signing time: 07-10-2025 11:26:17 4 WP-39105-2025 as defined under the Micro,Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act 2006. Such MSMEs shall have to furnish MSME registration certificate (NSIC/ DIC/ Udyam Certificate) issued by the appropriate authority. Further, submission of such MSME certificate issued in the name of Affiliate / Promoter shall not be considered".
7. The definition of MSME clearly stipulates that the MSME shall have to furnish MSME registration certificate issued by the appropriate authority and it further provides that submission of MSME certificate in the name of affiliate/promoter shall not be considered. This condition clearly shows that the entity bidding if it claims the benefit of an MSME, it must submit the MSME certificate and the certificate of its promoter or affiliate is not to be considered. Admittedly, in the present case, the bid was neither submitted in the name of Mittal Plastomet Limited nor in the name of Absolute Projects India Limited. The bid was submitted as a consortium and on the date of bid submission, admittedly there was no certificate issued in the name of consortium by the appropriate authority under the MSME. The certificate relied on by the petitioner and which was submitted after a query was raised shows that the classification as MSME of the consortium has been done on 04.09.2025, as of 04.09.2025 which is much after the bid submission date, further the MSME certificate is in the name of Mittal Plastomet Limited plus Absolute Projects India Limited JV Solar MP, which also is not the bidder which has submitted the bid. Even otherwise, the said certificate has been generated after the last date of bid submission and the classification date is as of 04.09.2025. Consequently, said certificate also does not qualify the tender conditions.
Signature Not Verified Signed by: VAISHALI TRIPATHI Signing time: 07-10-2025 11:26:175 WP-39105-2025
8. Since the petitioner had submitted the bid as MSME and availed of the benefits, the bid of the petitioner could only have been considered as an MSME. Since MSME requisite MSME certificate has not been produced, we find no error committed by the respondent in declaring the bid of the petitioner as non compliant
9. In view of the above, we find no merit in the petition. The petition is consequently dismissed.
(SANJEEV SACHDEVA) (VINAY SARAF)
CHIEF JUSTICE JUDGE
VPA
Signature Not Verified
Signed by: VAISHALI
TRIPATHI
Signing time: 07-10-2025
11:26:17