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2.The Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC), a Government of India Undertaking, has a Gas Processing Plant at Hazira in the State of Gujarat. Engineers India Limited (EIL) acting as consultants for ONGC issued an advertisement dated 27-6- 1991 in the leading newspapers of the country including those in circulation in West Bengal calling for tenders for setting up of a Kerosene Recovery Processing Unit at the Hazira Complex in Gujarat. According to the said advertisement the tenders containing offers were to be communicated to EIL at New Delhi. NICCO, having its registered office in Calcutta, read and became aware of the tender notice printed in the Times of India circulated within the jurisdiction of the Calcutta High Court. The tenders were to be scrutinised by a Tender Committee and the final decision was to be taken by a Steering Committee at New Delhi presided over by the Chairman of ONGC. NICCO, along with others, submitted their offer or bid in response to the tender notice. All the bids were scrutinised by EIL at New Delhi. NICCO's bid was rejected on the ground that it did not fulfil the requisite experience criteria stipulated in the tender. The recommendations made by the EIL were considered by the Tender Committee. The Tender Committee, however, expressed the view that NICCO satisfied the experience criteria and they too should be called for the clarificatory meeting proposed to be held by EIL at New Delhi. The said meeting was held by the EIL with various bidders including NICCO some time in July-August 1992. After the said meeting EIL once again reiterated its earlier view that NICCO lacked the experience criteria. The Tender Committee re-examined the view of EIL and agreed with the same some time in October 1992. In view of the said development NICCO was not recommended for shortlisting by the Tender Committee. NICCO represented and their representations were considered by the EIL as well as the Tender Committee but they saw no reason to depart from their earlier view. The final decision was taken by the Steering Committee on 27-1-1993 at New Delhi, pursuant whereto it was decided to award the contract to M/s CIMMCO Ltd. Thereupon NICCO filed the aforesaid writ petition in the High Court of Calcutta. In the said writ petition CIMMCO was not made a party. On the application of CIMMCO this Court directed that it be joined in the appeal as a co-respondent. NICCO prayed that ONGC be restrained from awarding the contract to any other party and if awarded to cancel the same. The High Court by its impugned order dated 17-12-1993 directed as under:

Para 5. NICCO came to know of the tender from the publication in the Times of India 'issued and obtained' by NICCO within the said jurisdiction;
Para 7. NICCO issued/submitted its tender on 19-8-1991 from its registered office within the Jurisdiction of the Calcutta High Court which was received by EIL at New Delhi; Para 18. NICCO submitted its revised price bid by letter dated 3-12-1992 issued from its registered office within the aforesaid jurisdiction;
Para 22. By communication dated 4-12-1992 issued from its registered office, NICCO made demands for justice to various authorities; and Para 26. By letters addressed to different agencies including the Steering Committee of ONGC in January/February 1993 from its registered office, NICCO made demands for justice.
These are the averments in the body of the writ petition on the basis whereof NICCO contended that a part of the cause of action had arisen within the jurisdiction of the Calcutta High Court. It may also be mentioned that in the course of submissions before this Court counsel for NICCO referred to a fax message dated 15-1-1993 sent in answer to NICCO's fax message dated 11-1-1993 on the basis of which he contended that a part of the cause of action arose within the jurisdiction of the Calcutta High Court where the message was received. Although in the paragraphs disclosing the cause of action for the institution of the writ petition reference is not made to this fax message, we propose to deal with it to avoid technicalities. The question which, therefore, arises for consideration is whether the aforesaid averments made in the body of the writ petition taken individually or collectively, assuming them to be true, constitute a cause of action for the maintenance of the writ petition in the High Court of Calcutta?

7. The learned counsel for ONGC contended that on these averments no part of the cause of action had arisen within the jurisdiction of the Calcutta High Court and hence the writ petition filed by NICCO and another was not entertainable by that High Court. He submitted that ONGC had decided to set up a Kerosene Recovery Processing Unit at Hazira in Gujarat. EIL was appointed by ONGC as its consultant. In that capacity, EIL issued the advertisement from New Delhi calling for tenders and this advertisement was 1 ILR (1889) 16 Cal 98,102: 15 IA 156 printed and published in all the leading newspapers of the country including the Times of India in circulation in West Bengal. The tenders or bids were to be forwarded to EIL at New Delhi. EIL was expected to scrutinise the tenders and make its recommendations to the Tender Committee constituted by ONGC. The final decision was, however, to be taken by the Steering Committee at New Delhi presided over by the Chairman, ONGC. Accordingly, the tender of NICCO was examined by EIL at New Delhi and it recommended its rejection on the ground that NICCO did not satisfy the experience criteria requisite for the grant of contract. On the first occasion, the Tender Committee did not agree with the said recommendation and directed the EIL to call NICCO at the clarificatory meeting proposed to be held in New Delhi. In obedience to the said direction, EIL invited NICCO along with the other bidders, but once again recommended its rejection on the ground that it did not satisfy the experience criteria. The Tender Committee which met in New Delhi reviewed its earlier decision and accepted the recommendation of EIL which was also accepted by the Steering Committee at New Delhi on 27-1-1993. It was at this point of time that the decision to award the contract to CIMMCO was taken at New Delhi. Counsel for ONGC, therefore, contended that all these events took place outside the jurisdiction of the Calcutta High Court and merely because NICCO had read the advertisement in the Times of India in circulation in West Bengal and had forwarded its tender from its registered office in Calcutta and followed it up by a revised offer, it cannot be said that any part of the cause of action had arisen within the jurisdiction of the Calcutta High Court for the simple reason that if these facts were to give a cause of action, every tenderer would sue ONGC in the local court from where he forwarded the tender and that would make ONGC run about from court to court all over the country. Counsel further submitted that nor can the fact that NLCCO sent representations including fax messages from its registered office to ONGC at Calcutta to which ONGC showed the courtesy of replying confer jurisdiction. In support of this contention, he placed strong reliance on the decision in State of Rajasthan v. Swaika Properties2. Learned counsel for CIMMCO buttressed these submissions by inviting our attention to certain other decisions of this Court, namely, Election Commission v. Saka Venkata Subba Rao3, R. Bejal v. Triveni Structurals Ltd .4, Subodh Kumar Gupta v. Shrikant Gupta' and certain decisions of different High Courts. On the other hand, counsel for NICCO, while reiterating that the averments made in paragraphs 5, 7, 18, 22 and 26 constituted an integral part of the cause of action, submitted that by the introduction of clause (2) in Article 226 of the Constitution, the Legislature intended,to widen the High Court's Jurisdiction and thereby extend its beneficent reach even to cases where a part of the cause of action arose within its territorial Jurisdiction. In the alternative, he submitted that even if this Court comes to the conclusion that the High Court 2 (1985) 3 SCC 217 3 1953 SCR 1144: AIR 1953 SC 210 4 1987 Supp SCC 279 5 (1993) 4 SCC 1 of Calcutta lacked jurisdiction, this Court sitting in appeal should not interfere with the verdict of the High Court as ONGC had neither alleged nor showed that there had been a failure of justice. In this connection, he placed reliance on the spirit of Section 21 of the Code of Civil Procedure. He, therefore, contended that this Court should examine the appeal on merits and not confine itself to the question of territorial jurisdiction. Lastly, he submitted that on merits NICCO had made out a good case for the grant of relief sought by it.