Nextenders India Pvt. Ltd. v. State of Assam
In the High Court of Gauhati
Crl. P. 768/2014
Before Justice Robin Phukan
Decided on May 29, 2023

Relevancy of the case: Quashing of Judicial Magistrate’s orders in a case involving allegations of collusion in an e-tender process

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 65, 66)
• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Section 409, 420, 468, 471)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The complainant lodged a complaint under the provisions mentioned above.
• The complainant had submitted a bid for both bridges through an e-tender and manual submission.
• Regarding the Koliabhomora Bridge, he was invited to attend at the time of opening the financial bid, but his technical bid regarding the Gangadhar Bridge was rejected.
• The complainant suspected foul play in the rejection of his technical bid. The same was unreasonable, and it was believed that the petitioner company, in collusion with PWD officials, had manipulated the e-portal.

Prominent Arguments by the Advocates

• The petitioner’s counsel argued that the case had been filed with mala-fide intention, and none of the ingredients of the offence were present.
• The respondent’s counsel submitted that the transaction was purely commercial and no collusion occurred.

Opinion of the Bench

• Even at their face value, the allegations fail to disclose a prima facie case against the petitioners.

Final Decision

• The bench allowed the petition and quashed the orders passed by the Judicial Magistrate.

Aditi Mangesh Sawant, an undergraduate student at NMIMS Kirit P Mehta School of Law, Mumbai, prepared this case summary during her internship with The Cyber Blog India in January/February 2024.