Smart Ration Cards: High Court Clears Way for Tender, Upholds Rejection of Bidder Over Missing Security Features
The dispute related to a tender notification issued by the civil supplies department on March 10, 2025, for the procurement of approximately one crore cards for BPL families and 20 lakh APL smart ration cards.
Hyderabad:The Telangana High Court dismissed a writ petition filed by Rosmerta Technologies Limited challenging its disqualification from a government tender for the procurement of personalised QR-code enambed smart ration cards.
The dispute related to a tender notification issued by the civil supplies department on March 10, 2025, for the procurement of approximately one crore cards for BPL families and 20 lakh APL smart ration cards.
Rosmerta Technologies approached the court after its technical bid was rejected. The state contended that the disqualification was based on non-compliance with technical requirements, including failure to submit an encrypted QR application capable of instantly fetching digital ration card details without external links, and the absence of specified security features such as “dual hidden image and relief text” on the sample card.
The petitioner alleged that the rejection was arbitrary and intended to favour other bidders, claiming that the department failed to provide physical samples of the card. The state responded that no physical samples were distributed to any bidder, though samples were displayed during the pre-bid meeting on March 17, last, which the petitioner did not attend. The sample was later shown to the petitioner’s representative.
Relying on Supreme Court precedents, the court held that judicial review in technical tender matters was limited. Observing that it lacked the technical expertise to assess compliance with tender specifications and finding no arbitrariness in the evaluation process, the court upheld the disqualification and dismissed the writ petition.