1994 (11) TMI 203 - SUPREME COURT

Joint venture – Past Experience – Held that:- It is possible to visualise a situation where a person having past experience has entered into a partnership and the tender has been submitted in the name of the partnership firm which may not have any past experience in its own name. That does not mean that the earlier experience of one of the partners of the firm cannot be taken into consideration. - For judging the credentials past experience will have to be considered along with the present state of equipment and resources available with the tenderer. Past experience may not be of much help if the machinery and equipment is outdated. Conversely lack of experience may be made good by improved technology and better equipment.

Status of Joint Venture – Held that: A joint venture can take the form of a corporation wherein two or more persons or companies may join together. A joint venture corporation has been defined as a corporation which has joined with other individuals or orporations within the corporate framework in some specific undertaking commonly found in oil, chemicals, electronic, atomic fields. – A joint venture is a separate legal entitity.

Status of state in a tender - At the outset, we may indicate that in the matter of entering into a contract, the State does not stand on the same footing as a private person who is free to enter into a contract with any person he likes. The State, in exercise of its various functions, is governed by the mandate of article 14 of the Constitution which excludes arbitrariness in State action and requires the State to act fairly and reasonably.