Ramana Dayaram Shetty vs The International Airport Authority Of ... on 4 May, 1979
48. Therefore, whether a term of NIT is essential or not is
a decision taken by the employer which should be
respected. Even if the term is essential, the employer has
the inherent authority to deviate from it provided the
deviation is made applicable to all bidders and potential
bidders as held in Ramana Dayaram Shetty [Ramana
Dayaram Shetty v. International Airport Authority of
India, (1979) 3 SCC 489] . However, if the term is held
by the employer to be ancillary or subsidiary, even that
decision should be respected. The lawfulness of that
decision can be questioned on very limited grounds, as
mentioned in the various decisions discussed above, but
the soundness of the decision cannot be questioned,
otherwise this Court would be taking over the function of
the tender issuing authority, which it cannot.