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PoliticsSupreme Court refuses to intervene in Delhi HC decision on CPV tenders in four Indian missions
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The Supreme Court of India on July 20, 2026, declined to intervene in a Delhi High Court decision that quashed tenders for outsourcing Consular, Passport, and Visa (CPV) services at Indian missions in Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Singapore, and Canberra. The High Court had found the technical evaluation of bidders lacked transparency and was unfair. A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant allowed the Ministry of External Affairs to temporarily continue engaging incumbent contractors or successful bidders from the earlier tender to avoid service disruption. The court directed that a fresh Request for Proposal (RFP) process be completed within three months, with the temporary arrangement subject to the final outcome. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued the tender was based on individual competence, while senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing a thwarted bidder, said lower bids were ignored. The court noted the High Court's observation that the bid assessment terms created an 'unworkable situation'.
Source report
The High Court had quashed tenders outsourcing Consular, Passport and Visa services at Indian missions in Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Singapore and Canberra
Published - July 20, 2026 07:33 pm IST | NEW DELHI
By The Hindu Bureau
Supreme Court of India. File | Photo Credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar
The Supreme Court on Monday (July 20, 2026) refused to intervene against a Delhi High Court decision to quash tenders outsourcing Consular, Passport and Visa (CPV) services at Indian missions in Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Singapore and Canberra.
A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said the Union government, through the Ministry of External Affairs, was free to evolve a temporary mechanism to provide services “in a manner as may be appropriate” until fresh allocation of work was made to the lowest bidder (L1) after the new tender process was completed.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the government, said the High Court erroneously did not consider that the tender was finalised on the basis of the individual competence of the bidders.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who appeared for one of the thwarted bidders that had approached the High Court successfully, said the lower bids were ignored.
However, Justice Joymalya Bagchi referred to the High Court’s observation that the terms governing the assessment of bids had presented an “unworkable situation”.
In order not to disrupt CPV services any further, the court directed that the Ministry could temporarily continue to engage the incumbent contractors or the successful bidders from the earlier tender until a fresh Request for Proposal (RFP) followed by a fresh allocation of work was made.
The court said the incumbents or the present bidders could accept the temporary arrangement at their own risk and would be subject to the final outcome of the new tender process, which had to be completed within three months.
The High Court, on July 15, had set aside the tendering of CPV services to the four missions on the ground that the technical evaluation of bidders lacked transparency and was unfair. The High Court had directed the Ministry to issue fresh Requests for Proposal (RFPs) within a month.
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Supreme Court refuses to intervene in Delhi HC decision on CPV tenders in four Indian missions