2026:CGHC:6174-DB NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR Sunil Kumar Agarwal S/o Radha Krishna Agarwal Aged About 60 Years M/s. Sunil Steel Industries, Address - Sarju Bagicha, Azad Nagar, B/1, Ward No. 18, C.B. Heights, Bilaspur (C.G.) ... Petitioner(s)

versus

1 - Union Of India Through Secretary, Ministry Of Micro, Small And Medium Enterprises, Nirman Bhavan, A- Wing, 7th Floor, Maulana Azad Road, New Delhi

2 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through The Secretary, School Education Department, Government Of Chhattisgarh, Mahanadi Bhavan Nava Raipur, Atal Nagar, District Raipur (C.G.)

3 - Director Directorate Public Instructions, School Education Department, Naya Raipur, District Raipur (C.G.) ...Respondent(s)

(Cause-title taken from Case Information System)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For Petitioner : Shri Awadh Tripathi, Advocate For Union of India : Shri Tushar Dhar Diwan, Advocate For Respondent/State : Shri Shashank Thakur, Addl AG ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hon'ble Shri Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice Hon'ble Shri Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal

Order on Board

Per R amesh Sinha, Chief Justice

04.02.2026 Heard Shri Awadh Tripathi, learned counsel for the petitioner. Also heard Shri Shashank Thakur, learned Addl AG, appearing for the respondent/State, and Shri Tushar Dhar Diwan, learned counsel appearing for the Union of India.

1. Petitioner has filed this petition with the following prayer:

“It is, therefore, prayed that this Hon’ble Court may kindly be pleased to allow this application and further proceeding of tender notice issued by R.3 on dated 09.01.2026 (Annexure P/1) may kindly be stayed and the respondent No.3 may kindly be directed not to act in furtherance of tender notice dated 09.01.2026 (Annexure P/1) till final disposal of the petition, in the interest of justice.”

2. Brief facts of the case are that petitioner Sunil Kumar Agarwal is running Sunil Steel Industries which is engaged in manufacturing of furniture as per UDYAM Registration Certificate, a Micro Manufacturing Enterprise, working since 20.01.2021. Respondents- 2 & 3 published a tender notice on 09.01.2026 for supply of Classroom Stools, Metal Shelving racks(adjustable type), chair for general purposes, composite office tables and metal storage cabinets in the tender bid GEM/2026/B/7088881 by Gem portal. Last date for submission of tender form was 30.01.2026 and the total quantity of the items is 42688, and EMD required is of Rs.19,50,000/-. The tender is reserved for MSEs (Micro and Small enterprises) but the prescribed qualification criteria with minimum average annual turnover of Rs.7.80 lakhs for the last three financial years, and it has also been mentioned that no MSE relaxation for year of experience and turnover, more so ever in ATC (Additional Terms and Conditions) it has been mentioned that bidder should have

80% past performance of total bid quantity of all type of wooden / steel furniture. The bidder must have successfully supplied the aforesaid number of furniture units to any government organization in any of last three financial years i.e. 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25. The petitioner made a detailed representation on 20.01.2026 and e-mail on 23.01.2026 by which he explained the defects in the ATC which is against the CG Gazette notification published on 10.12.2025 stating that the additional condition shall not be imposed in the tender which deprives the rights of the bidder. Petitioner has also raised objection with respect to clause-6 of the Gem tender and bunch bids. The category related to primary product having highest bid value should meet this criteria and as per Gem tender, the primary product is composite office tables and therefore, the past performance should be needed for this category and the quantity mentioned only with similar items supplied but, in the ATC it has been asked for pa