In Brief
BHEL awarded a contract to BTL EPC for design, engineering, and supply of an Ash Handling Plant at the Yadadri Thermal Power Station. BTL met qualification requirements through a consortium agreement with a Chinese company (Fujian Longking). A competing bidder challenged the award, arguing the Chinese company should have been registered under the Public Procurement Order 2020 restricting bidders from bordering countries. The High Court Division Bench allowed the challenge and quashed the award. The Supreme Court reversed this, holding that the consortium agreement was merely a service arrangement (not a full bidding consortium requiring registration), the 2021 clarification excluded goods and services from registration requirements, and courts must defer to the tender authority's interpretation absent clear arbitrariness. Given substantial contract progress, interference would cause undue loss to the public exchequer.
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