2026:CGHC:2952-DB ROHIT NAFR KUMAR CHANDRA Digitally signed HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR by ROHIT KUMAR CHANDRA WPC No. 231 of 2026 M/s Hydro Pneumatic Engineers ( Hyd) Pvt. Ltd. Rep. By Its Authorized Signatory Yogesh Kumar Sahu, S/o. Shri Bhagwan Prasad Sahu, Aged About 37 Years, Office Of C/o L.S. Rao, House No. 18, State Bank Colony, Near Lal Bag Ground, Jagdalpur, District Bastar C.G.

... Petitioner versus

1 - The union of india through ministry of defence (DRDO) govt. of india, through its chairman, drdo bhawan, drdo hqrs, rajaji marg, new delhi.

2 - Advanced Systems Laboratory, Ministry of Defence (DRDO), Govt.

of India, Rep.By Director, Kanchanbagh, Hyderabad

3 - SF Complex, Through General Manager Airport Terminal Building, Jagdalpur, Drdo, Rep. By General Manager, Government of India, Ministry of Defence, Airport Terminal Building, Jagdalpur, District Bastar C.G.

4 - M/s Prenita Constructions, Through Its Proprietor, Opp. Ashok Gondis Residence, Vrindavan Colony, Jagdalpur C.G.

... Respondents -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For Petitioner : Mr. Goutam Khetrapal, Advocate For Respondent/UOI : Mr. Ramakant Mishra, Dy. Solicitor General along with Ms. Shweta Rai, CGC For Respondent No.4 : Mr. Anurag Tripathi, Advocate -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hon'ble Mr. Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice Hon'ble Mr. Ravindra Kumar Agrawal , Judge

Order on Board

Per Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice

19.01.2026

1. Heard Mr. Goutam Khetrapal, learned counsel for the petitioner.

Also heard Mr. Ramakant Mishra, learned Deputy Solicitor General along with Ms. Shweta Rai, learned Central Government Counsel, appearing for respondent/UOI and Mr. Anurag Tripathi, learned counsel, appearing for respondent No.4.

2. The present petition has been filed by the petitioners under Article

226 of the Constitution of India, with the following prayers :-

“10.1 Quash the cancellation of tender pursuant to NIT dated 14.02.2025, quash the subsequent NIT dated 21.08.2025 as arbitrary and illegal and direct the respondents to issue work order to the petitioner pursuant to the original NIT, being the declared L-1 bidder; or, 10.2. Direct the respondents to pass a reasoned and speaking order on the petitioner's representations within a fixed time frame.

10.3. Pass any other order(s) deemed fit in the interest of justice.”

3. Mr. Goutam Khetrapal, learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the respondent authorities, through the Ministry of Defence, Department of Defence Research & Development (DRDO), issued a Notice Inviting Tender (NIT) on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) Portal, bearing Bid No. GEM/2025/B/5871105 dated 14.02.2025, for awarding a Service Contract for Operation and Maintenance of Propellant Plant at SFC, Jagdalpur, for a period of four (04) years, under the Ministry of Defence. The petitioner along with other bidders have participated in the said tender proceedings. The bids were opened and evaluated in accordance with the procedure set out in the NIT, including technical evaluation followed by financial evaluation. As per the Financial Evaluation, the petitioner i.e. Hydro Pneumatic Engineers (Hyd) Pvt. Ltd., was declared the Lowest Bidder (L-1) with a total bid of Rs. 57,24,61,693/-, whereas the next lowest bidder i.e. Respondent no. 4 herein, quoted Rs. 62,17,40,700.27/-. He further submitted that after declaration of L-1, the petitioner was called for negotiation by the respondent authority on 11.06.2025, and a CNC meeting was conducted on 17.06.2025. During negotiations, the petitioner agreed and undertook to execute the entire work at 7% below the departmental estimate, and the petitioner submitted its Revised Best and Final Offer (BAFO) on 24.07.2025, reducing its total bid to Rs 54,89,42,601/- including GST for the total four-year contract period, in compliance with the CNC meeting directives and an acceptance lette