KARACHI, June 13: A local firm has filed an application as an intervener with the Sindh High Court in the bulletproof jackets case, claiming it had made the lowest bid and its product had passed the NIJ tests.

Ijaz Ahmed, advocate, has filed the application for M/s Lyra Shoe Company (Pvt) Ltd as one of the defendants to the suit, being the lowest bidder in the bidding held on March 15 for the purchase of 1,600 bulletproof jackets by the Sindh police for a total amount of Rs59,976,000.

Justice Wahid Bux Brohi directed on Wednesday the official assignee of the Sindh High Court to undertake separate tests of the bulletproof jackets, imported from South Africa, on the order of the Sindh police, by experts separately from police, army experts drawn from the 5th Corps Karachi and foreign experts, as suggested by the plaintiff (M/s Sana International Trading Corporation (Pvt) Ltd).

The order was given when the application of M/s Sana International Vs the Inspector-General of the Sindh Police, in a suit, came up for consideration. The plaintiff is a supplier of bulletproof jackets to the Pakistan Army and the Sindh rangers also.

The intervener had participated in the tendering process. In the first tender, the intervener’s sample was the only one that passed the ballistic test. In the second tender, the intervener was the lowest among the qualified bidders. The intervener’s bid in the third tender was also the lowest.

The intervener has claimed that he had offered a price of Rs33,764 as compared to the plaintiff’s bid of Rs42,795 a unit of jacket. The intervener alleged that in order to favour the plaintiff, ballistic tests were not carried out in accordance with the NIJ standards, nor were the bidders allowed to participate in all the tests to ensure transparency. The intervener claimed that he had lodged a protest against the arbitrary procedure allegedly followed by the defendants.

The intervener claimed that his jackets had passed the NIJ standards when they were subjected to ballistic tests at the Pakistan Army’s Inspectorate of Armaments in Rawalpindi. The intervener had also supplied jackets to the Pakistan Navy and the Sindh rangers.

The intervener claimed that his cost would have not only provided the required security but would have also saved a substantial amount.

The plaintiff had filed an application in the suit following rejection of of the order by the police department, after opening an irrevocable letter of credit and after receiving part of the consignment.

According to facts of the case, police had invited tenders for the purchase of 1,600 bulletproof jackets. The plaintiff was one of the bidders, whose samples were examined along with those of others and were finally approved.

After the parties complied with all the legal formalities, they entered into a written contract for supplying 1,428 bulletproof jackets at the rate of Rs42,000 apiece. The total amount of the contract agreed was Rs 59,976,000.