In Brief
The Supreme Court upheld the Government's policy for procuring submarine batteries—critical defence equipment for the Indian Navy—exclusively from vendors registered with the Director General of Quality Assurance (DGQA) after supervised development, rather than through open competitive tender. The respondent, HBL, claimed to have independently developed submarine batteries and sought participation in procurement through open tender. The Delhi High Court had directed the Ministry to issue open advertisements for tenders. The Court reversed this, holding that mission-critical defence spare parts cannot be procured through open tender due to national security imperatives. DGQA supervision ensures products meet stringent military standards, and the Government cannot risk defence personnel lives by accepting untested products, even if the supplier claims capability. The policy does not violate Article 14 when applied to defence-critical items."
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