TASMAC tender process for license for selling eatables quashed

The Madras High Court today quashed recent tender notifications issued by state-run liquor retailer TASMAC to collect empty bottles and sell eatables in bars attached to vending shops for the year 2017-18.
Delivering the judgement on a batch of more than 200 petitions, Justice R Mahadevan held that the notifications grossly violated the October 27, 2015 order of the court pertaining to grant of licences to the shops.
Such acts of Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Limited (TASMAC) cannot be countenanced, he said quashing the impugned May 2 and 3 last notifications.
The Judge remanded the matter back to TASMAC for fresh consideration in the light of the earlier order of the Court for notifying such tenders, he said.

He directed the TASMAC to fix the upset price taking into consideration the volume of sales and finalise the tenders and complete the exercise within four weeks.
The petitioners submitted they were earlier granted licenses to collect empty bottles and sell eatables in the bars attached to the shops.

While so, the respondents published the impugned notificatins for fresh licences.
However, the licence fee fixed was very high and they were reluctant to participate in the tender process, they said.
In its October 2015 order, the court had directed the TASMAC to formulate appropriate tender conditions as agreed upon earlier, so as to fix the upset price for the bars.