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Showing contexts for: reverse auction in The Bharat Coking Coal Ltd. vs Amr Dev Prabha on 18 March, 2020Matching Fragments
312). An initial estimate of Rs 1694.84 crores was prepared by the appellant, with the aim of contracting the firm which offered the lowest cost estimate for fulfilment of the tender work.
5. The bidding was slated to be conducted on the online ereverse auction platform of C1India on 04.05.2015 and 05.05.2015, with C1 India having near complete supervision and autonomy over the auction process. In turn, C1India had hosted its server with Tata Communications Ltd (“TCL”) which was also providing internet connectivity through a leased line to C1India. As per terms of the NIT, the auction would close at 6:00PM on 05.05.2015. However, the auction would automatically terminate in case any particular bid went unresponded for a period of 30 minutes. In case of any technical faults at the service provider’s end, the auction period was to be paused and extended by the period of the fault; however, bidders were to be responsible for connectivity problems at their end.
45. It would thus be apt at this stage to reproduce the concluding passage of fact finding enquiry conducted by CVC, which reads as follows:
“It is significant to place on record that the notification of closure of the reverse auction generated by system at 13:03:47 hrs on 05.05.2015 submitted by M/s AMR Dev Prabha, in fact, belongs to another bidder M/s. Montecarlo Ltd. Neither BCCL nor C1 India Pvt. Ltd. have ever placed such notification on record. It remaims unclear as to how and when M/s. AMR Dev Prabha got possession of this document, which actually belonged to M/s. Montecarlo Ltd. and which became the basis for M/s. AMR Dev Prabha to stake their claim of being the lowest bidder at 13.03.47 hrs. It is also seen that this important fact, of generation of notification of closure of the auction by the system at 13:03:47 Hours, as the bid of M/s AMR Dev Prabha remained unresponded for the specified period of 30 minutes, was neither reported by C1 India to BCCL nor to the participating bidders. Such, notification of closure of the auction, even though generated during the period of interruption in connectivity of the bidders with the server, should have been declared as ‘null and void’ before restarting the auction process. Even, BCCL did not demand any report Page | 24 from C1 India Pvt. Limited for the interruption period so as to take a call before proceeding further for restart of the reverse auction process. Further, considering that during this period BCCL was aware of the connectivity problem being faced by the bidders, it should have exercised intense real time monitoring which have not been done. Failure to do so is a reflection of the fact the adequate incident management system was not put in place by the service provider M/s. C1 India Pvt. Ltd. to handle such eventuality effectively.