In Brief
Daffodills Pharmaceuticals, a bidder in a state medicine supply tender, was subject to an indefinite directive by the Government of Uttar Pradesh stopping local procurement from it, allegedly because a former director faced criminal charges. The company was not given any notice or hearing before this action. The Supreme Court held that even an informal directive preventing procurement functions as a debarring order and requires prior notice and opportunity of hearing, principles of natural justice being fundamental and inviolable. The Court quashed the impugned directive and the High Court's judgment, allowing the appeal and granting substantive relief given the length of time the directive had been in effect.
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