Impossible Tender Formality Cannot Defeat Valid E-Payment

The Supreme Court has held that a public tender cannot be rejected for failure to submit an “original” document that exists only as an electronically generated payment receipt.

Hardev Construction’s bid was disqualified because it did not provide an original receipt for an online earnest-money payment. In its 12 October 2026 judgment, the court said compliance was impossible: the transaction produced no physical original, and the payment itself was not disputed.

The bench set aside the rejection and allowed the bidder to furnish fresh security. It directed the authorities to open and consider the financial bid alongside the other bids, while leaving the procurement decision to be taken under the tender terms.