J U D G M E N T

1. Leave granted.

2. While exercising judicial review over administrative actions of the State and its instrumentalities in relation to contracts provisioning clauses and rules relating to termination and/or blacklisting, Courts must apply distinct standards of legality, rationality and proportionately. Such an approach is compelling as conditions for imposing such measures, as also Signature Not Verified the consequences of such actions, have differing gravity.

Jayant Kumar Arora Date: 2026.04.02 Reason:

3. Upon careful consideration of the impugned State action, which terminates the contract and blacklists the appellant without meaningful distinction, we hold that the termination order is substantiated and justified. However, the blacklisting order suffers from patent infirmities: it evinces no application of mind, disregards the mandatory precept of audi alteram partem, and fails to precede with a show-cause notice requiring the contractor to demonstrate why such drastic action should not be taken. Blacklisting, being stigmatic and exclusion