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devoted exclusively to advertisements is contained in the directory. The person who undertakes the printing of the directory procures the advertisements from private parties and collects the charges for the same. In return, he supplies a prescribed number of directories free of cost to the Department and also pays to the Department a certain amount by way of royalty. The contract for printing and publishing the telephone directory is normally awarded by inviting tenders and selecting the best offer from among the tenders which are so received. This practice has been in vogue for some time. In Sterling Computers Ltd. v. M & N Publications Ltd. I this Court has dealt with the award of such a contract for printing and publishing of the telephone directories for Delhi and Bombay. The instant case relates to the telephone directory for Hyderabad.

7. Regarding the expertise of TPI it was stated that it had been established as a joint venture with Thomson International Canada in 1964 and is located at Faridabad, Haryana and has units at Okhla, Noida Export Zone and also has sales/coordination offices in Metropolitan towns in India, and in London and New York. It was stated that with over 125 managers and 1255 skilled technicians/workers the press is equipped to handle the most exacting printing jobs and working with state-of-the-art technology, TPI produces both quality and volume and a detailed list of machines installed for printing, folding, cutting and binding and other equipment was enclosed and it was stated that the said equipment and skill would be available/utilized for all directory production work. It was stated that among the many diverse jobs that have been executed by TPI are printing of editions of India Today (two languages and a total of 1.2 million copies per month), Computers Today, Business Today, Readers Digest, Span Magazine, Scientific Journals, books (both hard and soft bound) for export and telephone directories for UDI, Sterling Computers, Sesa Seat, etc.

12.In the counter-affidavit filed on behalf of Respondents 1 to 3 in the High Court it was stated that as per the averments in the writ petition TPI and LMI had printed and bound the telephone directories for respective parties who had been awarded the contract for Delhi and Bombay and that the appellants did not produce any evidence to show that they have in their name undertaken compiling, printing, binding and supply of telephone directories of large telephone systems with a capacity of more than 50,000 lines and further that telephone directory of Delhi 1992 issue was published by Sterling Computers Limited on behalf of United Data Base (India) Pvt. Ltd. and it was printed and bound at Navneet Publications (India) Ltd., Gandhinagar, and the telephone directory of Bombay 1992 issue does not indicate any publisher's or printer's name. It was also stated that NHL was converted into a joint venture company in 1992 and have no experience whatsoever in their own name for compiling, printing, binding and supply of telephone directories of telephone systems of more than 50,000 lines capacity. It was further stated that the appellants had submitted the directories of Delhi and Bombay only to show the capability of printing facilities of TPI and LMI and it does not substantiate their experience of a full job of compiling, printing and supply of telephone directories as stipulated in the tender notice/document. In the counter- affidavit it was also stated that the royalty and other aspects of the tender were not considered since the appellants did not meet the primary requirement of experience as above.

is necessary for an administrative body functioning in an administrative sphere [See : Ramana Dayaram Shetty v. International Airport Authority of India2 (SCR p. 1034 : SCC pp. 505-06, para 12); Kasturi Lal Lakshmi Reddy v. State of J & K3 (SCR p. 1355 : SCC pp. 11- 2 (1979) 3 SCC 489: (1979) 3 SCR 1014 3 (1980) 4 SCC 1 :(1980) 3 SCR 1338 12, para 11); Fasih Chaudhary v. Director General, Doordarshan4 (SCR p. 286 : SCC p. 92,); Sterling Computers Ltd. v. M & N Publications Ltd.1; Union of India v. Hindustan Development Corpn.5 (at p. 513)].