Delhi High Court cancels Centre's Visa services tender for four countries
The Delhi High Court has struck down the Centre's tender process for outsourcing Consular, Passport and Visa (CPV) services at Indian missions in Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Singapore and Canberra, citing serious flaws in the evaluation process.
The court ruled that the Ministry of External Affairs' (MEA) technical assessment lacked transparency, fairness and proper documentation, making it arbitrary and violative of constitutional principles.
A Division Bench observed that bidders were awarded or denied marks without clear reasons, and the authorities failed to disclose the comparative standards used during the evaluation. The court said such unexplained deductions and inconsistent scoring undermined transparency and equality in public procurement. It also noted that excluding a lower bidder through an arbitrary process could adversely affect public interest and the public exchequer.
The High Court has directed the Centre to issue fresh Requests for Proposal (RFPs) for all four Indian missions and conduct a new tender process in accordance with the law. To ensure there is no disruption in passport, visa and consular services, the existing service providers will continue operating until the fresh bidding process is completed and new contracts are awarded.
