Clarificatory circular governs pending tender complaint: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has ruled that a procedural or clarificatory circular issued after a complaint against a co-bidder is lodged but before that complaint is finally decided ordinarily governs the pending complaint. The bench of Justice Shekhar B. Saraf and Justice Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary held such a circular would not apply only where it unsettles a right that has already crystallised, or where it is shown to have been framed to defeat an identified complaint.

A registered contractor had bid for the renovation and expansion of a press club in Ambedkar Nagar, estimated at Rs 117 lakh, and objected on 17 April 2026 that respondent no. 6 had concealed ongoing work to misrepresent its bid capacity. An office order dated 18 April 2026 of the Uttar Pradesh Public Works Department laid down that concealed work would be verified only where its cost exceeded 10 per cent of the tender cost. The complaint was initially found meritorious, but on remand in light of the order, respondent no. 6 was declared L-1 and awarded the contract on 10 June 2026.

The court gave three reasons for applying the order: it did not abolish the complaint category but quantified it, it operated across all Public Works Department tenders, and it was clarificatory of an existing norm, not a new substantive criterion. The court also noted the two concealments were not comparable for discrimination, with Rs 3.72 lakhs here against Rs 94.09 lakhs in a separate tender.