In Brief
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) awarded a concession for highway widening to Gwalior Jhansi Expressway Limited. The contractor later sought exemption from participating in a tender for balance work while claiming the Right of First Refusal to match the lowest bid, based on an interim arbitral order. The Supreme Court held that participation in the bidding process is a condition precedent to exercising ROFR. An interim arbitral order, lacking express exemption from tender participation, cannot override publicly notified tender conditions or the fundamental principle of transparent, competitive procurement. The Court set aside both the Arbitral Tribunal's and High Court's decisions, emphasizing that silence in an order cannot grant what must be expressly stipulated."}
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