The administrative engagement of Women's Self Help Groups in public procurement is policy-driven; no legal entitlement exists to continuous participation without performance assessments.

JUDGMENT :

SASHIKANTA MISHRA, J.

1. All these writ petitions involve common facts and being heard together, are disposed of by this common judgment.

Case of the Petitioners

2. Bereft of unnecessary details, the case of the petitioners is as follows:

2.1 The petitioners in W.P.(C) Nos. 22272 of 2025, 23182 of 2025, 23215 of 2025, 23274 of 2025, 23278 of 2025, 23289 of 2025, 23296 of 2025 and 23496 of 2025 are Women’s Self Help Groups (WSHGs) who claim to have been duly selected for procurement of paddy pursuant to the Guidelines issued in the year 2019 through an open invitation of Expression of Interest (EOI), for various Blocks in the district of Subarnapur. Upon such selection, they were engaged in Kharif paddy and Rabi crop procurement operations for the last four years on behalf of the State Government through its agency, namely, the Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation (OSCSC). In the present cases, they challenge their exclusion in the paddy procurement exercise being conducted for the current year (2025-26) without assignment of any reason and by restricting procurement activities exclusively to PACS, and consequentially, seek quashing of the orders dated 16.07.2025 passed by the Collector, Subarnapur, inviting 20 SHGs to make farmer registration for KMS 2025–26, and the order dated 22.07.2025 passed by the Collector, Subarnapur, intimating that, for smooth and hassle-free procurement of paddy during KMS 2025–26, the registration of farmers will exclusively be done by all PACS.

2.2 The petitioner in W.P.(C) No. 23881 of 2025 is also a Women’s Self Help Group, which was selected in the year 2024 pursuant to an invitation for Expression of Interest issued for engagement as agent of OSCSC for Kharif Paddy Procurement, 2024–25, for Kadodar Gram Panchayat under Ulunda Block. Such selection was made owing to alleged mismanagement on the part of the Uma Maheswar SHG (petitioner in W.P.(C) No. 22272 of 2025), resulting in replacement and appointment of the present petitioner group. The petitioner similarly challenges its subsequent exclusion without assignment of reasons and the restriction of procurement activities exclusively in favour of PACS, and seeks quashing of the aforementioned orders dated 16.07.2025 and 22.07.2025.

2.3 The petitioners in W.P.(C) Nos. 32549 of 2025, 32954 of 2025, 32959 of 2025 and 32962 of 2025 are also Women’s Self Help Groups, who challenge the inaction of Opposite Party No. 2 in not issuing a fresh invitation of Expression of Interest as well as the orders dated 16.07.2025 and 22.07.2025, whereby they have been debarred from participating in paddy procurement for the KMS 2025–26, despite their willingness to participate and though they were not previously engaged in the procurement process except the Petitioner in WPC No. 32549 of 2025.

Stand of the Opposite Party No.2

3. Counter affidavit has been filed by Opposite Party No. 2 in W.P.(C) Nos. 22272 of 2025 and 23496 of 2025, which has been adopted in all the connected writ petitions. The stand of Opposite Party No. 2 is that since the initiation of the 2019 Guidelines, the Women’s Self Help Groups selected thereunder were allowed to continue uninterruptedly till the year 2024, and no fresh Expressions of Interest were issued during the period 2019 to 2024.

3.1 It is further stated that on 12.07.2024, the Government in the Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Department took a decision to review the performance of the Women’s Self Help Groups that had been continuously engaged in paddy procurement since 2019. Pursuant