Lucknow, April 28 -- The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has termed rejection of a petitioner's bid arbitrary and discriminatory, despite submission of all required documents. It said the tendering authority's decision-making process indicated bias, noting that the bid was rejected on technical grounds even though petitioner had furnished necessary papers. Staying the tender process, the court restrained authorities from awarding any contracts under it for the time being. A division bench of Justice Shekhar B Saraf and Justice Abhdesh Kumar Choudhary passed the order on April 22 while hearing a petition filed by M/s Associated Jute Industries through its partner and another individual, challenging the rejection of its bid. The UP Seeds Development Corporation Ltd had floated a tender for supply of high-density polyethylene bags, along with circular loom woven bags. The petitioner submitted its bid along with documents. Petitioner's counsel argued that purchase orders and completion certificates established the firm's technical capability. However, the bid was rejected on ground that documents were not uploaded as per tender conditions. It was contended that the petitioner's application was rejected and financial bids were opened the very next day-a Sunday-allegedly to favour a particular party. The bench asked respondents to seek instructions on whether the petitioner could be considered at this stage and listed matter for May 14. htc...