Administrative authorities must strictly adhere to principles of natural justice when taking punitive actions such as blacklisting. This requires issuing a prior show cause notice with specific allegations and disclosing all relied-upon material, including investigation reports, to enable the affected party an effective opportunity to defend itself.

JUDGMENT :

MANISH CHOUDHURY, J.

1. Taking exception to a Firm Debarment Notice bearing no. 746365 dated 02.02.2026 [‘Debarment Notice’] passed by the Managing Director, Assam Medical Services Corporation Limited [the respondent no. 3], the petitioner has instituted the present writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. By the impugned Debarment Notice, the respondent no. 3 has blacklisted and debarred the petitioner from participating in any tender for any items issued by the Tender Inviting Authority [TIA] for a period of three years, with immediate forfeiture of the Bid Security and Performance Security, in accordance with the provisions of the Assam Public Procurement Act, 2017, from the date of the said intimation.

2. The petitioner is a partnership firm having its registered office at HSIDC Industrial Estate, Jind, Haryana. The petitioner has stated that it specializes in primary manufactures and supplies of ‘Absorbent Cotton Wool’, a versatile, sterilized and bleached cotton product used extensively in healthcare for wound cleaning and bandaging as well as for personal care, hygiene, baby care and make-up removal, being known for its high absorbency and purity. The petitioner has claimed experience in the field of supplying cottons, both in Government and non-Government sectors and it has successfully completed supplies of various orders issued by departments/agencies of the Government of India and various State Governments across the country.

3. The Assam Medical Services Corporation Limited [AMSCL] by publication of a Notice Inviting Tender [National Competitive Bidding] dated 07.03.2024 [‘the NIT’, for short] invited online tenders under two-bid system from eligible parties for supply of essential surgical items by entering into a Rate Contract valid for one year from the date of issue of Letter of Intent [LoI]. The eligibility criteria for the prospective bidders were laid down in Clause 2 of the Bidding Document. The bidders were required to submit online bids through the designated e-Tender portal and the bids were to be submitted in two-bid system [Technical Bid & Price Bid].

4. Clause 4 of the Bidding Document provided for ‘Evaluation, Selection & Acceptance of Tender’. The bids [Technical Bid & Price Bid] were to be opened online on the prescribed date. Price Bids of only those bidders whose Technical Bids were found acceptable/eligible after technical and commercial evaluation, were to be opened online. Price Bids of technically qualified bidders were to be evaluated with reference to the quoted price [landed price, for destination] of each item to determine the L-1 [lowest] price. After conclusion of the Price Bid opening, the lowest bid [quoted] among the bids received for each item was to be discovered and declared as L-1 rate and the corresponding bidder as L-1 bidder for that item for which the bids were invited. The bidder declared as L-1 for certain item[s] was to be invited to execute a Rate Contract for a period of one year to supply the item[s] of required quantity, quality and sp