The Delhi High Court has set aside a ₹56 crore catering contract awarded by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to RK Associates and Hoteliers Pvt. Ltd, citing failure to disclose a pending criminal case. The Court found the non-disclosure to be a violation of essential tender conditions designed to uphold integrity and prevent corruption in public procurement.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela held that IRCTC had acted contrary to its own tender norms by awarding the contract despite the omission.
“The process by which the Letter of Award was issued is flawed and contravenes the tender terms,” the Bench observed, emphasizing that transparency and fairness are crucial in public tenders.
The petition challenging the contract was filed by rival bidder MS Deepak and Co., which had submitted a lower bid of ₹41 crore. The firm argued that RK Associates failed to disclose a pending case from 2015 involving allegations under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act—information it claimed was required under the tender’s Integrity Pact.
Although proceedings in that case were stayed by the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court held that the mere pendency of the matter should have been disclosed. It rejected IRCTC’s argument that only incidents from the past three years were relevant, clarifying that disclosure requirements under Section 3 of the Integrity Pact extend beyond that period.
“Disclosure of past transgressions is essential for the tendering authority to assess the bidder’s reliability,” the Court said, adding that failure to do so deprived IRCTC of a fair opportunity to evaluate the bidder’s credentials.
While the Court did not find fault with IRCTC permitting RK Associates to add witness signatures to the Integrity Pact post-submission, it concluded that the non-disclosure of criminal proceedings was sufficient to nullify the contract award.
The Court directed IRCTC to initiate a fresh tender process and complete it within three months. To ensure service continuity, RK Associates has been allowed to continue operations until a new contractor is appointed.
The petitioner was represented by Senior Advocate Kirti Uppal, while Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared for IRCTC. Senior Advocates Sandeep Sethi and Jayant Mehta represented RK Associates.
