Authority: High Court of Manipur at Imphal

Order Date: 25‑09‑2026

Case Overview

  • Appellants/Applicants: (1) L. Guni Singh, President, All Manipur PWD Contractors' Association; (2) A. S. Clement, President, All Tribal Contractors' Association.
  • Respondents: (1) State of Manipur (Commissioner/Secretary, MSRRDA/RD & PR); (2) Engineer‑Chief (RED/MSRRDA); (3) Union of India (Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development); (4) Director General, National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency; (5) Bhartia Infra Projects Ltd (through Director Pawan Kr. Bhartia); (6) Nirbhay Construction Limited (through Chairman Nirbhay Pratab Singh); (7) Sharma Bros, Scientific Instruments Co (proprietor unnamed).
  • Procedural History: Two writ appeals – WA No. 26/2026 (with MC No. 69/2026) and WA No. 27/2026 (with MC No. 70/2026) – challenged two separate orders dated 17‑09‑2026 issued by a Single Judge in MC [W.P. (C) No. 716 of 2026] and MC [W.P. (C) No. 720 of 2026].
  • The underlying writ petitions were W.P. (C) No. 689 of 2026 and W.P. (C) No. 695 of 2026, each contesting Tender Bids Evaluation Reports (dated 01‑09‑2026) and Revised Technical Bids Evaluation Reports (dated 10‑09‑2026) for two Notices Inviting Tender (NsIT) issued on 10‑07‑2026 by the Rural and Engineering Department (RED/MSRRDA) for 96 road‑construction packages.
  • The Single Judge had rejected interim stays of the technical evaluation reports; the appellants appealed.
  • A related dispute between respondents R5 (Bhartia Infra Projects Ltd) and R6 (Nirbhay Construction Ltd) led to a separate writ petition W.P. (C) No. 680 of 2026, which was taken to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court, in SLP (C) No. 33857/2026, on 24‑09‑2026 ordered a status‑quo and directed the Single Judge to dispose of the writ petition by 30‑10‑2026, with a two‑month timeline for merits.
  • All counsel for both sides agreed to dispose of the present WAs in light of the Supreme Court status‑quo, noting that the same NsIT underlie all three writ petitions.
  • The court noted that Sharma Bros (R7) had already been served in the Single Judge proceedings; consequently, notice to R7 in the present WAs was dispensed with, preserving its rights for the separate proceedings.

Final Outcome

1. The two Miscellaneous Cases (MC [W.P. (C) No. 716] and MC [W.P. (C) No. 720]) are declared otiose and are closed without any order as to costs.

2. The three writ petitions – W.P. (C) No. 680, W.P. (C) No. 689, and W.P. (C) No. 695 of 2026 – are to be heard together by the Single Judge.

3. The Supreme Court’s status‑quo order (paragraph 5 of the 24‑09‑2026 order) is extended to the two NsIT covering all 96 packages, and the same timeline (disposal within two months of first hearing) applies.

4. Notice to Sharma Bros (R7) is dispensed with for the present WAs, but its contentions remain preserved for any future hearing before the Single Judge.

5. No costs are awarded; the court’s directions are binding on all parties.

Topics: Court Proceedings, Public Procurement, Infrastructure Development