IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE C.V.RAMULU W.P.No.14003 of 2005 Date: 9th September, 2010 Between: The Association of Handloom Surgical Dressings Manufacturers (SSI), Barkatpura, Hyderabad rep. by its President. .. Petitioner And The Andhra Pradesh Health and Medical Housing & Infrastructure Development Corporation (APHMHIDC), Sultan Bazar, Hyderabad, rep. by its Managing Director and another. .. Respondents THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE C.V.RAMULU W.P.No.14003 of 2005 ORAL ORDER: This writ petition is filed challenging the tender notification dated 22.6.2005 issued by the first respondent inviting tenders in respect of Bandage Cloth and Gauze Cloth as arbitrary and illegal. It appears, petitioner is a registered Association of Handloom Surgical Dressings Manufacturers of State of Andhra Pradesh. According to the petitioner association, Government has issued G.O.Ms.No.1193 dated 29.8.1974 reserving Bandage and Gauze cloth to be exclusively purchased from SSI units for the use of Government Departments as a measure of marketing assistance to them in the State. Paragraph 3 of the said G.O. reads as under: “The Government after careful consideration and in supercession of all the orders issued from time to time in the matter of purchase of gauze and bandage cloth, issue the following orders: I. Bandage and Gauze cloth required by the Government Departments should exclusively be purchased from the following units only and under no circumstances should this item be purchased from any other source. i) Bandage, gauze cloth manufacturing units functioning under Employment schemes run by the Industries Department. ii) Bandage and gauze cloth manufacturing unit, Tempatri, run by the A.P. Small Scale Industries Development Corporation. iii) Bandage and gauze cloth manufacturing units run by the Jail Department. iv) Bandage and gauze cloth manufacturing u nits run by Apex Handloom Weavers’ Coop Societies. v) Units set up by entrepreneurs under self-employment schemes. II. Specifications laid down by the Director, Medical and Health Services, should be strictly followed by the manufacturing units mentioned above. III. Government Departments should place orders on any of the above units three months in advance so as to enable the production units to plan their production and effect supplies in a phased manner”. Now the grievance of the petitioner association is that in spite of the said orders passed by the Government in the above G.O. as well as in G.O.Ms.No.428 dated 8.12.1998, first respondent issued tender notification dated 22.6.2005 inviting tenders for purchase of bandage and gauze cloth from the open market. Though the writ petition was admitted on 4.7.2005, no interim order was passed. Therefore, the challenge made to the notification dated 22.6.2005 and the cause therein had become infructuous. However, learned counsel for petitioner states that the respondents are obligated under G.O.Ms.No.1193 dated 29.8.1974 to purchase the material only from the SSI Units mentioned in the said G.O, but not from the open market by fixing the rate by the committee. The learned counsel further stated that earlier the rates were being fixed by the Committee of A.P. Small Scale Industrial Corporation, and since the said Corporation is wound up, the matter is entrusted to the Commissioner of Industries for fixing the rates. Under those circumstances, the respondents are directed to follow G.O.Ms.No.1193 dated 29.8.1974 and G.O.Ms.No.428 dated 8.12.1998 strictly for the purpose of fixing the rate for purchase of bandage and gauze cloth from the members of petitioner association and not to follow the tender system. The writ petition is accordingly disposed of. No order as to costs. ______________ C.V.RAMULU, J Date: 9.9.2010 DA