New Delhi (Agency):In a crucial ruling, the Karnataka High Court underscored that national security takes precedence over public interest. The court nullified a contract that Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) awarded to a private firm, connected to a Chinese entity, and deemed the contract award invalid.
The court argued that, “The mere claim of public interest without following the due procedure of registering with the competent authority cannot be pitted against the national interest.”
The court dismissed BHEL’s argument that intervening at this stage would delay the project implementation. The bench was equally dismissive of the suggestion that terminating the contract would place financial pressure on the government’s treasury, even though half of the work had already been done.
BHEL had previously awarded the contract to a Kolkata-based company, BTL EPC Ltd. This company, in association with a Chinese company named Fujian Longking Co. Limited, was assigned in 2022 to establish an ash handling plant worth Rs 378 crore as part of a Thermal Power Station project in Telangana.
The order was recently issued by a division bench led by Chief Justice Prasanna B. Varale and Justice M.G.S. Kamal. This order came in response to a petition by Macawber Beekay Private Limited, a Noida-based company that challenged the contract award to the Chinese-affiliated firm.
The bench clarified that bidders from countries sharing borders with India are required to register with competent authorities. The Union Ministry of Finance issued this directive in the interest of national defence and security on July 23, 2020.
The court insisted that BTL EPC Ltd. was not technically qualified to bid, and it only became eligible through its association with the Chinese firm. Although the legal counsel for BTL EPC Ltd argued that they were the only bidder and the link with the Chinese company was only for design and engineering, the bench did not accept this argument.
The court instructed BHEL to consider the Noida-based company’s bid and allowed BHEL four weeks to appeal the decision in the Supreme Court.