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E Compusell Limited vs. Union of India & Ors.

Writ Petition (Civil) · 2026:DHC:7740Decided 9 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
W.P.(C) 13083/2026CNR: DLHC010424122026
Dr. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma

Background

The petitioner company had won a government e-Marketplace (GeM) tender to supply 189 printers to Ammunition Factory Khadki, Pune, but the consignment was rejected on the ground that the printer cartridges used a "separate toner and drum" design rather than the specified "composite cartridge," despite the petitioner producing independent government lab reports certifying compliance. The contract was later cancelled and a show-cause notice for blacklisting was issued.

Decision Breakdown

Before examining the merits of the printer dispute, the Court had to decide whether it had territorial jurisdiction to even hear the case in Delhi. It found that the bid, the delivery, the inspection, the rejection, and all the disputed communications occurred entirely in Pune: the only Delhi connection was that GeM (the online marketplace operator) is headquartered there, and GeM itself had played no role in the actual rejection decision. Applying Supreme Court precedent that even a "slender" jurisdictional link does not compel a court to hear a case if the real dispute lies elsewhere, the Court dismissed the petition for want of territorial jurisdiction, leaving the petitioner free to approach the Karnataka High Court.

Lesson Learnt

Filing a case in a court merely because one respondent's office is located there is not enough: a court will decline jurisdiction if the actual dispute (the facts giving rise to the case) arose entirely elsewhere.

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