The Union Government has moved the Supreme Court challenging a recent Delhi High Court judgment that set aside the Ministry of External Affairs' (MEA) tender process for outsourcing Consular, Passport and Visa (CPV) services at Indian Missions in Abu Dhabi (UAE), Kuwait, Singapore, and Canberra (Australia).
The appeal comes after the Delhi High Court ruled that the technical evaluation process adopted by the MEA suffered from arbitrariness, irrationality, and lack of transparency. The High Court had directed the Centre to issue fresh Requests for Proposal (RFPs) and undertake a fresh bidding process for all four overseas missions.
The matter was mentioned before a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Union Government and the MEA. Accepting the request for urgent listing, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the matter on Monday.
The Delhi High Court's judgment arose from petitions filed by unsuccessful bidders, including E Trav Tech Limited and Verasys Limited, who challenged their disqualification during the technical evaluation stage. The petitioners alleged that the authorities failed to provide adequate reasons for awarding marks and relied on undisclosed evaluation benchmarks.
Allowing the petitions, the High Court held that the evaluation process lacked transparency and violated principles of fairness under Article 14 of the Constitution. The Court observed that merely disclosing parameter-wise scores without explaining the basis for awarding or deducting marks rendered the process opaque and arbitrary.
The High Court consequently quashed the technical evaluation process and directed the Centre to initiate a fresh tender exercise within one month. It also ordered that existing service providers continue operations until completion of the new procurement process to avoid disruption of passport, visa, and consular services.
Challenging the ruling, the Centre contends that the High Court's decision could adversely affect the delivery of critical passport and visa services at Indian missions abroad. The Supreme Court's upcoming hearing is expected to determine whether the High Court's directions should be stayed and whether the tender process can continue pending further adjudication.
The case raises important questions regarding judicial scrutiny of government procurement decisions, transparency in tender evaluation processes, and the balance between administrative discretion and constitutional principles governing public contracts.