JAGDISH MANDAL vs STATE OF ORISSA .

The Supreme Court held that the acceptance of tenders must comply with the requirements set forth in the tender documents, including the validity of the Earnest Money Deposit (EMD). In this case, the EMD submitted by the fifth respondent was deemed invalid due to a fraudulent representation regarding the amount deposited, as confirmed by the Superintendent of Post Offices. Consequently, the Court upheld the decision of the Project Level Committee to accept the tender of the next lowest bidder, Jagdish Mandal, thereby affirming the principle that only responsive tenders should be considered for acceptance under the relevant procurement guidelines.