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2026 Supreme(Online)(Chh) 16756
HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR
Ramesh Sinha, CJ, Ravindra Kumar Agrawal, J
Ms. SHREE JEE CONSTRUCTION – Appellant
Versus
STATE OF CHHATTISGARH – Respondent
WPC No. 2243 of 2026
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Yogendra Chaturvedi, Najmi Begam
For the Respondents: Shashank Thakur
Belated objections to a tender process, raised after the financial bid opening and contrary to stipulated timelines, are considered an afterthought and do not warrant judicial interference, especially when the petitioner suppresses material facts from the court.
Headnote:The petitioner approached the court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, challenging the award of a tender for the construction of a Zila Panchayat Bhawan to the L-1 bidder. The petitioner alleged that the tender process was vitiated by procedural lapses and technical negligence, claiming that objections regarding the eligibility of other bidders were ignored by the authorities. The court found that the petitioner failed to adhere to the timelines stipulated in the E-N.I.T., which required objections to be submitted within three days of the technical bid opening. The primary issue was whether the belated objections raised after the opening of financial bids could unsettle a concluded tender process. The court reasoned that since the objections were raised after the declaration of the successful bidder, they appeared to be an "afterthought" and contrary to the tender conditions. Furthermore, the court observed that the petitioner suppressed material facts by withholding a covering memo of an enquiry report, which disentitles a party from invoking the discretionary and equitable jurisdiction of the court. Accordingly, in absence of any ground warranting interference, the writ petition is dismissed.
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. introduction of the writ petition and the factual background of the tender dispute. (Para 1 , 2 , 3) |
| 2. competing arguments regarding the validity of the tender award and the timeliness of objections. (Para 4 , 5) |
| 3. the court's determination that belated objections and suppression of material facts preclude equitable relief. (Para 6 , 7) |
| 4. final dismissal of the petition due to lack of grounds for interference. (Para 8) |
Order on Board
Per Ramesh Sinha , Chief Justice
1. Heard Mr. Yogendra Chaturvedi, learned counsel for the petitioner as well as Mr. Shashank Thakur, learned Additional Advocate General, appearing for the State/ respondent Nos.1 to 3.
2. The present writ petition has been filed by the petitioner under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, seeking following reliefs :
“10.1 That, this Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to set aside the Decision/Financial Bid Comparison Sheet ANNEXURE P/1 whereby Respondent No. 4 has been declared the L-1 bidder and awarded the subject tender.
10.2 That, this Hon'ble court may kindly be please to direct the Respondent Authorities, by way of an appropriate writ or order, to immediately cancel and terminate the tender proceedings under E-N.I.T. No. 09/2025-2026 dated 24.02.2026, and to refrain from taking any further steps in furtherance of the said NIT.
10.3 That, this Hon'ble court may kindly be please to direct the respondent authorities to re-invite the tender for the construction of Zila Panchayat Bhawan, Distt- Gaurela Pendra Marwahi, to be conducted under the supervision of independent, higher-ranking competent authorities to ensure transparency and fair competition.
10.4 That, this Hon'ble court may kindly be please to direct the higher authorities of the Respondent Department to initiate a high-level departmental enquiry against the members of the tender committee and Respondent No. 3 for the repeated procedural lapses and "technical negligence as evidenced by the issuance of the Show Cause Notice.
10.5 That, any other relief or reliefs may also be granted to the petitioner which this Hon'ble court deems fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case.”
3. Brief facts of the case are that pursuant to the E-Notice Inviting Tender (E-N.I.T) No. 09/2025-2026 (Second Invitation) dated 24.02.2026 floated by the Respondent authorities, tender applications were invited for the construction work of Zila Panchayat Bhawan, Distt- Gaurela Pendra Marwahi (C.G) and last date of submission of the tender application was 07.03.2026 and technical bid was to be opened on 11.03.2026 at 12.30 PM. The Petitioner and other candidates including the Respondents No.4 also submitted their tender form for the said project within the stipulated time period and thereafter on 11.03.2026 at about 12:30PM before the tender committee, the technical bid was opened and thereby 5 candidates including the petitioner were declared eligible for further processes of financial bid however 2 candidates were declared disqualified. The petitioner raised objection before the respondent authorities on 20.03.2026 and 25.03.2026 in respect of the eligibility of the other 4 eligible bidders and thereafter respondent authorities opened the financial bid on 08.04.2026 at about 04:48 PM and declared the respondent No. 4 as L-1 (Lowest bidder) and awarded the tender in his favor. The petitioner being aggrieved made objection on 09.04.2026 before the respondent authorities alleging that subject tender has been awarded to the Respondent No.4 ignoring the shortfalls to take with the documents attached by him with the tender application which is patently illegal as the infirmities in the document are serious in nature and renders the claim of the Respondent No.4 invalid. An enquiry was conducted by the respondent No.3 on 15.04.2026 in the presence of petitioner however it is denied by the petitioner that he ever participated in such enquiry and the respondent No.3 has given clarification i
