The Telangana High Court has allowed the tender process for Hyderabad’s proposed Radial Road-2 project to proceed for now, declining to halt it while directing Sushee Infra and Mining Limited to add the successful L-1 bidder as a party to its challenge against disqualification.
A bench led by Justice B Vijaysen Reddy directed the Telangana government and other respondents to file their counters within two weeks. The court said both the technical and financial bids had already been opened and that the successful bidder had been identified, making an interim order that could stall the process inappropriate at this stage.
The case concerns Sushee Infra’s disqualification at the technical-bid stage for several packages of the project being executed by Hyderabad Growth Corridor Limited. The proposed road is planned from the Outer Ring Road at Kothwalguda, also known as Budwel, to NH-167N near Nacharam.
The three packages involved in the petitions cover the route from Budwel to Shabad, Shabad to Gudur, and Gudur to Nacharam. According to the petitioner’s counsel, the L-1 bidder’s quoted price for the three packages was approximately Rs 600 crore higher than the rates quoted by Sushee Infra. The company argued that ignoring its bid could impose an additional burden on the state exchequer and sought a stay on further tender proceedings.
Government counsel opposed the request, arguing that judicial intervention was not warranted after the technical and financial bids had been opened and the tender process had substantially progressed. The government also submitted that obstruction of infrastructure works through an interim order would be inappropriate, relying on judgments of the Supreme Court and various high courts.
The dispute also involves the experience certificate submitted by Sushee Infra. Authorities have questioned the validity of the certificates furnished by the company, while the petitioner has maintained that the certificate it relied on satisfies the tender conditions. The court said the validity of the certificate and the authority of the officer who countersigned it would be examined after the respondents file their replies.
The court clarified that its observations were limited to the request for interim relief and did not amount to a final decision on the merits of Sushee Infra’s challenge. It said the question of interim orders could be reconsidered after the successful bidder is impleaded and that its directions could be modified if necessary.
The order is also open to challenge through a writ appeal. Until the next stage of the proceedings, the tender process remains unhalted, with the state and other respondents required to submit their counters within two weeks.
