Authority: High Court of Odisha at Cuttack
Order Date: 05.11.2026
Case Overview
- Petitioners: M/s Shivam Distributors, Cuttack (with others); represented by Senior Advocate B.S. Tripathy and Advocate A. Sahoo.
- Opposite Parties: State of Odisha and related prison authorities (Tender Issuing Authority, DIG Prisons HQ, Director of Correctional Services, Senior Superintendent Circle Jail, Cuttack).
- Two writ petitions: W.P.(C) No.4009 of 2026 filed on 01.02.2026 and W.P.(C) No.29064 of 2026 filed on 03.09.2026, both challenging the rejection of the petitioner's bid for supply of “Principal Food Grains and other Miscellaneous Articles” to Circle Jail, Choudwar for FY 2026‑27.
- The petitioner claimed its technical bid was rejected unlawfully and sought direction to receive financial bid documents and to be allowed to participate in the quotation process from September 2026 onward.
- The State filed a counter‑affidavit (dated 07.04.2026) alleging that the petitioner had supplied 51 ltrs of coconut oil on 02.09.2025 with an expiry date of 15.09.2025, which was past‑dated, and that the petitioner failed to respond to multiple reminder letters dated 08.11.2025, 06.12.2025, 11.12.2025 and 10.01.2026.
- The petitioner contended it never received those letters and that alleged irregularities were false and mala fide.
- The Court examined the annexed letters bearing official outward issue numbers, confirming they were duly issued to the petitioner and copied to senior prison procurement officials.
Final Outcome
- The Court found no merit in either writ petition, held that the petitioner had indeed failed to maintain supply standards and ignored official communications, and therefore dismissed both petitions.
- All interim orders previously granted are vacated forthwith.
- No costs are awarded to either party.
Topics: Procurement, Legal Dispute