State instrumentalities must strictly adhere to the terms of a tender; specific relaxations granted to Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) cannot be diluted or ignored during evaluation, as doing so is arbitrary and violates Article 14 of the Constitution of India.

Hon'ble Shri Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice

Hon'ble Shri Ravindra Kumar Agrawal, Judge

Order on Board

Per Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice

09.04.2026

1. Heard Mr. Anshul Tiwari, learned counsel for the petitioner. Also heard Mr. Shashank Thakur, learned Additional Advocate General, appearing for the State and Mr. Jitendra Kumar Saxena, learned counsel, appearing for respondent No. 6.

2. The present writ petition has been filed by the petitioner with the following prayers:

“i. That, the Hon’ble Court may kindly be pleased to quashing and setting aside the impugned tender process bearing Bid No. GEM/2025/B/7032239 dated 19.02.2026, to the extent it suffers from arbitrariness, illegality, and improper evaluation of the petitioner’s bid.

ii. It is most respectfully prayed that this Hon’ble Court may be pleased to issue an appropriate writ, order or direction, including a writ of Mandamus, directing the respondents to re-evaluate the technical bid of the petitioner strictly in accordance with the terms and conditions of the tender document, particularly by granting the benefit of MSME relaxation and awarding appropriate marks under the turnover criteria.

iii. That, the Hon’ble Court may kindly be pleased to direct the respondents to decide the petitioner’s representation dated 26.03.2026 in a time-bound manner, in accordance with the GeM portal guideline.

iv. Any other relief, which this Hon’ble Court deems, fit in the facts and circumstances may also be granted in favour of the petitioner.”

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is a Self-Help Group run and managed by women members and has been actively engaged in furtherance of women welfare under various schemes of the Government of Chhattisgarh. It is submitted that the petitioner is also successfully operating a restaurant, namely “Gad Kalewa,” at Jungle Bazar, Jashpur, and possesses substantial and longstanding experience in providing food and dietary services.

4. Learned counsel for the petitioner further submits that the respondent authority, namely the Civil Surgeon-cum-Chief Hospital Superintendent, District Hospital, Jashpur, floated a tender dated 19.02.2026 on the GeM portal bearing Bid No. GEM/2025/B/7032239 for providing dietary services, having an estimated value of Rs. 60,00,000/- for a period of one year, with an Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) of Rs. 60,000/-. As per the eligibility conditions, bidders were required to have a minimum average annual turnover of Rs. 50,00,000/- for the preceding three years. However, the bid document itself expressly and unequivocally provides that if the bidder is a Micro or Small Enterprise (MSE) as per the latest orders issued by the Ministry of MSME, the bidder shall be granted complete relaxation from the eligibility criteria relating to both “Experience Criteria” and “Bidder Turnover,” subject to meeting the quality and technical specifications.

5. It is further contended by learned counsel for the petitioner that the petitioner, being a duly registered MSE and holding a valid Udyam Registration Certificate, as evidenced by Annexure P/4, fully satisfied the conditions for availing such relaxation and duly uploaded all supporting documents in proof thereof during the tender process. Despite this, the respondent authorities failed to extend the benefit of such relaxation to the petitioner, in clear breach of the tender conditions. He also submits that the evaluation was conducted on the basis of the Quality and Cost Based Selection (QCBS) method, wherein t