New Delhi (PTI): In a relief to construction major Larsen and Toubro, the Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the Delhi High Court order that directed ONGC to consider Malaysia-based Ramunia Fabricators Sdn Bhds' bid for development of B-22 oil field in Mumbai offshore.

A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhan while issuing notice to ONGC, Ramunia Fabricators and its Hong Kong-based subsidiary also restrained the state-run exploration major from taking any action in considering the bid.

L&T alleged that the High Court should not have asked the state-run exploration major to consider Ramunia's bid despite the fact that it violated the mandatory and essential terms of the tender.

L&T counsel Harish Salve said that while Malaysia-based Ramunia Fabricators Sdn Bhd had submitted its bid pursuant to ONGC's decision to invite bids in May 2007 for its B-22 field development project, the tender documents were submitted by its Hong Kong company - Ramunia Fabricators.

According to him, the Notice Inviting Tenders clearly specified that the bidding documents were non-transferable and should be submitted only in the name of the bidder or a consortium led by the bidder in whose name the biding documents were issued.

Besides, the respondents had attempted to influence the process of bid evaluation, bid comparison and contract-award decision by disclosing their price in correspondence, though their price bid was never opened, L&T alleged.