Andhra Pradesh High Court Dismisses Writ Appeal Over Hospital Diet Tender, Upholding Suppression Finding

The appellant, a registered society, has supplied diet to inpatients and duty doctors at Government General Hospital, Ongole since 2010. Five of six bidders, including it, qualified in a tender notified on 23 September 2025 (paras 2, 5). Its earlier W.P. No. 27573 of 2025, seeking a contract extension, was dismissed on 14 October 2025 (paras 7, 16). On 16 December 2025 the District Diet Management Committee decided on a lottery, split the tender and curtailed the contract period (para 8). Its W.P. No. 35483 of 2025 challenged the selection of respondents 6 to 8 and sought consideration of its complaint of 10 December 2025 and representation of 16 December 2025; it was dismissed on 7 May 2026 (paras 3-4).

Chief Justice Lisa Gill, for the Bench, held that the Single Judge rightly found suppression of a material fact: the writ affidavit described the appellant's long service and contract but "selectively chose not to mention" the earlier petition (paras 17-18). That petition arose from the same tender of 23 September 2025, in which the appellant took part, so it was material even though it sought a different relief (para 18). The petition also stated that bids were opened on 16 December 2025, when they were opened on 8 October 2025 in the appellant's presence (paras 14, 19). The appellant had itself earlier been selected for the same work by drawal of lots and had never objected to that course (paras 16, 20). Though the petition could have been dismissed for suppression alone, the Single Judge also rightly found the procedure, adopted with the consent of most qualified bidders, neither illegal nor arbitrary, as interference in tender matters has to be minimal (para 20). Applying Jagdish Mandal v. State of Orissa, (2007) 14 SCC 517, and Michigan Rubber (India) Ltd. v. State of Karnataka, (2012) 8 SCC 216, the Bench found no ground to interfere (paras 21-25).