Authority: High Court of Uttarakhand at Nainital (Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta, Justice Subhash Upadhyay)
Order Date: 15.09.2026
Case Overview
- Petition: Writ Petition (M/B) No.747 of 2026 filed by M/s Neelchameshwar Associates against Uttarakhand Rural Roads Development Agency & others.
- Original dispute: Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) on 05.08.2026 declared the petitioner’s technical bid non‑responsive, citing illegible documents supporting availability of construction equipment/machinery.
- Petitioner objected, resubmitted documents (pages 129, 132, 135 of the petition) which the Court found legible.
- The TEC again rejected the bid on the same ground and recommended a fresh tender, noting only one bid qualified in the technical round.
- The petitioner alleged that the Department had earlier wrongly accepted M/s Shakti Om Construction’s bid, later reversed after a separate writ (No.719 of 2026), and was now using that reversal to disqualify the petitioner to enable a fresh tender.
- The Court, without delving into alleged malafides, ordered the Department to produce the entire original record before the Court on 15.09.2026 and to refrain from initiating a fresh tender in the interim. The matter was listed for hearing on 15.09.2026, with a note that the Tender Evaluation Committee could revisit the issue if appropriate.
- On 12.09.2026, the Bid Evaluation Committee revisited its earlier decision and declared the petitioner’s bid responsive.
- The petitioner’s counsel accepted this factual position.
Final Outcome
- The writ petition was disposed of as infructuous since the bid was now deemed responsive.
- No fresh tender process will be initiated, and the Department must retain the original records as directed.
Topics: Public Procurement, Judicial Review