In Brief
Adani Gas Limited and others challenged the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board's grant of CGD network authorisations for the ninth bidding round, contending that Census data showing population and household figures was a mandatory disqualification criterion. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeals, holding that Census data was merely informative background in the bid document, not a binding eligibility criterion. The Board validly called highest-scoring bidders to justify bid reasonableness without violating natural justice, and its methodology for calculating projected households was rational and defensible.
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