The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court adjourned a public interest litigation filed challenging a tender, passed by the government for the construction of smart classrooms and hi-tech labs in government schools in the Tamil Nadu.

The litigant, Ernest De Prakash Livingston, submitted that the Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educational Services Corporation (TNTBESC), called for a tender worth Rs 523 crore to establish smart classrooms in 3000 government schools in rural areas and hi-tech labs in 3,090 schools without involving Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (ELCOT) which was formed solely for this purpose.

He further stated that the TNTBESC has avoided putting up a tender online, which is, allegedly, more transparent, and floated a 'fixed' tender purposefully fixing conditions which are suitable only for 3 companies to participate. The petitioner stated that the entire tender is against the procedure laid by Central Vigilance Commission and that the School Education department should not have entrusted the TNTBESC with the task as it is totally unconnected to the aim under which the corporation was formed.

Therefore, he prayed that the court to dispense with the government order passed by the School Education Department in this regard and the consequent tender notification and sought to quash the same. Admitting the litigation, a division bench comprising Justices M M Sundresh and N Sathish Kumar adjourned the case to Thursday.