The Supreme Court delivered a strong reminder today: when it comes to tenders, the government’s hands are not tied — and courts must keep theirs off unless something smells truly foul.
In a decisive ruling, a bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Prasanna B Varale overturned the Kerala High Court’s interference in a cancelled tree-felling tender. The matter revolved around a 2020 e-tender floated by the Kerala Forest Department for works in Konni Forest Division. When COVID-19 restrictions blocked some contractors from participating, the department decided to scrap the old tender and start fresh later that year.
That move didn’t sit well with several bidders who took the fight to the Kerala High Court, claiming the cancellation was unfair and stripped them of a rightful opportunity. Both the Single Judge and Division Bench sided with the contractors, ruling that simply chasing better offers wasn’t a valid reason for a redo.
But the Supreme Court saw it differently.
Justice Varale, writing for the Court, leaned on established precedent, especially Jagdish Mandal v. State of Orissa, making it clear: unless there’s clear evidence of bad faith, irrationality, or favoritism, the judiciary has no business second-guessing administrative decisions in tender matters.
The Court emphasized that the Forest Department’s choice to re-tender wasn’t arbitrary; it was a response to extraordinary pandemic conditions, aimed at widening the pool of competitors and ensuring fairness — not at favoring any specific bidder.
Criticizing the High Court’s approach, the bench made it plain: protecting the State’s financial health gives the government every right to cancel tenders and start over if needed. Such decisions aren’t an affront to public interest — they serve it.
“At the cost of repetition,” the Court remarked sharply, “we may state that the decision to offer a fresh opportunity to all interested bidders furthers the cause of public interest and fair play.”
With that, the appeal was allowed, clearing the way for the Kerala Forest Department’s fresh tender to proceed without further judicial roadblocks.
