The court upheld that stringent eligibility criteria in public procurement for critical operations are lawful and necessary, allowing no exemptions for MSMEs when justified by the operational context.

JUDGMENT :

TUSHAR RAO GEDELA, J.

1. Present petition has been filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, 1950, inter alia, seeking the following reliefs:-

“a) Issue a writ, order, direction in the nature of certiorari, quashing and setting aside the following clauses of the RFP dated 04.09.2025 floated by the Respondent No. 1, through the GeM portal by way of Bid Document bearing Bid No. GEM/2025/B/6646167, for the selection of Service Provider for Contact Centre/Call Centre Operations:-

i. Sl. No. 1 of Section B of the Table at Annexure 3 of Clause 3.2 of the RFP which provides that the bidder should have a minimum average turnover of Rs. 50 Crores during the last three FYs, insofar as the same applies to Start-ups and MSEs;

ii. Sl No. 1 of Section C of the Table at Annexure 3 of Clause 3.2 of the RFP which provides that the bidder should be operating with an aggregate of at least 3000 agents for its Contact Centre Voice Operations based in India catering to domestic clients during the last FY, insofar as it applies to Start-ups and MSEs;

iii. Sl. No. 2 of Section C of the Table at Annexure 3 of Clause 3.2 of the RFP which provides that the bidder should have provided the inbound/outbound contact centre services in atleast two Schedule Commercial bank during three FYs totalling to minimum of 1000 agents, insofar as it applies to Start-ups and MSEs;

iv. Clause 3.15 of the RFP which allocates 50 out the total 110 marks to the past experience of the bidder;”

2. Brief facts shorn of unnecessary details are as follows:-

a. Petitioner claims to be a duly incorporated company engaged in providing manpower and infrastructure services, including call centre services, for various projects. Petitioner is a registered Micro and Small Enterprise (hereinafter referred to as “MSE”) and is also registered with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (hereinafter referred to as “DPIIT”), Government of India, as a “Start-Up”.

b. It is the case of the petitioner that respondent no.1/the tendering authority floated the impugned Request for Proposal (hereinafter referred to as “RFP”) dated 04.09.2025, for selection of service provider for contact centre operations. The petitioner submitted pre-bid queries bringing the attention of the respondent no.1/the tendering authority to the relevant Rules and Guidelines of the Government of India with regard to granting exemption from minimum turnover and prior experience requirements for MSMEs/ Start-ups.

c. The petitioner states that on 11.09.2025, the respondent no.1/the tendering authority published responses to the pre-bid queries stating that “as IPPB is a completely digital bank, the operations involve handling of sensitive financial data and customer privacy, where uninterrupted service and proven large-scale experience are paramount. Considering the scale, sensitivity and public interest involved, exemptions or relaxations under the MSME/Startup category have not been provided in this tender. The eligibility criteria are, therefore, uniformly applicable to all prospective bidders.”

d. Aggrieved by the stance taken by the respondent no.1/the tendering authority, the petitioner submitted its representation dated 12.09.2025.

e. The petitioner submits that on 16.09.2025, a bid was duly submitted alongwith relevant documents showing the MSE and Start-ups status of the petitioner.

f. Aggrieved by the absence of exemption on turnove