A participant in a public tender has no vested right to award before formal acceptance. The state may cancel a tender process for non-compliance with mandatory procedural requirements without violating legal rights, provided the decision is transparent, non-discriminatory, and not driven by malafide intent.

JUDGMENT :

MANISH CHOUDHURY, J.

Heard Ms. S.B. Choudhury, learned counsel for the petitioner; Mr. P. Sharma, learned Standing Counsel, Fishery Department for the respondent nos. 1, 2 & 3; and Ms. U. Das, learned Additional Senior Government Advocate, Assam for the respondent no. 4.

2. The subject-matter of this writ petition, preferred under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, is a settlement process of a fishery named ‘Kakra Nadi Fishery’ [‘the Fishery’, for short], located in District – Sribhumi, Assam. For settlement of the Fishery, the respondent no. 4 as the Tender Inviting Authority [TIA] published a Tender Notice dated 14.07.2025 to invite bids from interested bidders. As per the Tender Notice, the yearly revenue for the Fishery was fixed @ Rs. 1,75,079/-. The Fishery is a 60% category Fishery and the settlement period offered by the Tender Notice was for seven years.

3. In response to the Tender Notice, the petitioner which is a Non-Governmental Organization [NGO], submitted its bid along with all the required documents. The petitioner offered a bid value of Rs. 3,40,500/- per annum. After the bid submission closure date, the bids of all the participant bidders were compared by the respondent no. 4 as the TIA to prepare a Comparative Statement. The tender papers of the participant bidders and the Comparative Statement were forwarded by the respondent no. 4 to the Fishery Department in the State Government on 03.09.2025 for further necessary action. The respondent no. 4 also forwarded two nos. of complaints, received at his office, alleging irregularities in the tender process. The Minutes of a Meeting of the Fishery Settlement Advisory Board, held on 07.08.2023, were also forwarded by the respondent no. 4 to the Fishery Department as the Fishery Department is the Tender Settling Authority in respect of a 60% category fishery under the Assam Fishery Rules, 1953, as amended.

4. Having received the proposal from the respondent no. 4 on 03.09.2025, the State Government in the Fishery Department passed an Order on 10.12.2025 cancelling the tender process initiated by the Tender Notice dated 14.07.2025 with a further direction to the respondent no. 4 to initiate a fresh tender process for Kakra Nadi Fishery by publication of a fresh Tender Notice.

5. Ms. Choudhury, learned counsel for the petitioner has contended that in the tender process initiated by the Tender Notice dated 14.07.2025, the bid of the petitioner was found compliant and after evaluation, the petitioner emerged as the highest bidder. In such view of the matter, the cancellation of the tender process by the impugned Order dated 10.12.2025 is illegal and arbitrary.

6. Mr. Sharma, learned Standing Counsel, Fishery Department has submitted that the impugned Order dated 10.12.2025 was passed to cancel the tender process initiated vide Tender Notice dated 14.07.2025 as the Tender Notice did not incorporate the clauses regarding the State Government’s Notification dated 18.01.2018. The direction to incorporate such clauses in the Tender Notice has been made pursuant to an Order dated 21.05.2025 passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in Special Leave to Appeal [Civil] no. 18318/2024 [Teteliguri Navajyoti Matasyajibi Samabay Samity Limited Cooperative Society vs. The State of Assam and others].

7. The Notification dated 18.01.2018 issued by the State Government in the Fishery Department and the Order dated 21.05.2025 [supra] are placed on record. The Notification dated 18.01.2018 was issued in order to streamline the procedure for submissio