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Hardev Construction Private Limited v. Union of India & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 1110Decided 12 Oct 2026
Civil Appeal arising out of SLP (Civil) No. 25855 of 2026
Justice J.B. Pardiwala · Justice K. Vinod Chandran

Background

The appellant's bid for a railway construction project was rejected solely because it had not submitted the "original" of its Bid Security, even though the Bid Security had actually been paid electronically through the e-payment gateway specified by the tendering authority, with the digital payment receipt scanned and uploaded along with the bid. The Patna High Court upheld the rejection, reasoning that the tender conditions required the physical original document.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that where payment of Bid Security is made through the authority's own e-payment gateway, demanding a physical "original" receipt is an impossible condition to satisfy, since the money had already reached the respondents' account and was fully within their control. Rigid, literal enforcement of a tender clause cannot be allowed where compliance in the literal sense is genuinely impossible. The Court set aside the rejection and the High Court's order, and directed that the contract be awarded to the appellant, with limited further steps for completing the Bid Security formality.

Lesson Learnt

A tendering authority cannot disqualify a bidder for failing to meet a condition that was impossible to fulfil in the first place, especially where the bidder has in substance already complied, such as by paying the required security through the authority's own designated electronic channel.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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