Allahabad HC stays UP road tender transfer, flags mid-process agency change

The Allahabad High Court stayed orders shifting a Gonda road project from the PWD after tendering had begun. The bench said such mid-process changes need cogent reasons because bidders' rights can be affected.Stock photo used for illustrationNewdelhi,Oct 9, 2026 16:40 ISTThe Allahabad High Court has said that once a government agency is appointed for a project and has started the tendering process, it should not be changed midway unless there are compelling reasons, as such a move can affect the rights of those who took part in the tender. The court said every action of the government must be just, fair and reasonable.The observation came while hearing a plea by Uttar Pradesh resident Om Prakash Mishra against the cancellation of a road construction tender floated by the Provincial Division of the Public Works Department in Gonda. The state government had later decided that the work should be handled by the Rural Engineering Department instead.A bench of Justices Alok Mathur and Amitabh Kumar Rai said, "Needless to say, every action of the government has to be just, fair and reasonable and even though the state government has the power to decide the concerned agency through which the work would be executed, once an agency has been nominated and the said agency has proceeded with the tendering process, then, during the middle of the process, unless and until there are some cogent reasons, no change in the agency should have taken place, affecting the rights of the persons who had participated in the tender process."According to Mishra's plea, the PWD's Provincial Division in Gonda had issued a tender for construction of a road from Mau Samasabad Achal Nagar Road to Padere Gadhawa Sonbarasa Ahlad Nagar Lonpurawa Link Road. Advocates Amul Mani Tripathi and Shubham Gupta, appearing for the petitioner, told the court that Mishra had duly participated in the tender process, but before it could be finalised, it was cancelled following a government order dated July 31. The petitioner's lawyers said the government order stated that the work fell under Regional Development and that the Rural Engineering Department, and not the PWD, was the appropriate authority. They said the construction work was accordingly transferred to the Rural Engineering Department and the tender process started by the PWD was ordered to be cancelled. They further argued that the exercise was clearly mala fide, carried out at the behest of the MLA from Mehnon, Gonda, and that there was no infirmity in the tender process started by the PWD.The counsel for the state government told the court that he had received instructions from the executive engineer of the PWD's provincial division in Gonda that the state government had decided to nominate the road construction work to the Rural Engineering Department. After considering the arguments, the high court said it did not find any valid reason or justification for the government order transferring the work to the Rural Engineering Department, particularly when the tender process was already underway and the petitioner was one of the bidders. The bench said, "We further noticed that, as per the allegations levelled in the writ petition, the said action has been taken at the behest of the local Member of the Legislative Assembly, 295, Mehauna, Gonda and a letter to this effect is also available on record dated July 27, 2026 as well as August 10, 2026, wherein it seems that merely on receipt of the said letters of the aforesaid MLA, the Government Order dated July 31, 2026 has been passed.""It is for the aforesaid reason that, prima facie, it seems that the said impugned government order has been passed in the most mala fide manner, which is bereft of any cogent reasons," the bench said, while directing the state authorities to file their reply within three weeks. The matter has been listed for the next hearing on November 25.In its October 7 order, the court said the operation of the government order dated July 31, 2026, and the August 1, 2026 order cancelling the tender would remain stayed till the next date of hearing. It also said the tender for the road must not be granted to any other person without the court's permission, while adding that the state government may allow the PWD to continue with the tender process after setting aside the August 1 order. The case centres on whether the government could shift the work to another agency after the tender process had already begun.- Ends