HC quashes PSPCL tender for supply of 1,000 electrical meters

The tender was regarding the supply, installation, testing, commissioning, reading, analysis and integration of the billing system of 1,000 power quality Class-A electrical meters

The Punjab and Haryana high court has quashed Punjab State Power Corporation Limited’s (PSPCL’s) decision of awarding a tender observing that mandatory technical safeguards in public procurement process can’t be bypassed.

The tender process was initiated in February 2025 and a purchase order was placed on March 18, 2026, by the PSPCL. (Shutterstock)

The tender was regarding the supply, installation, testing, commissioning, reading, analysis and integration of the billing system of 1,000 power quality Class-A electrical meters.

The court acted on the plea from Kannect Engineers Pvt Ltd, filed through senior advocate Anand Chhibbar.

The process was initiated in February 2025 and a purchase order was placed on March 18, 2026, by the PSPCL. The allegations were that the firm was finalized by the PSPCL without getting crucial technical test reports of the equipment, which should have been done prior to award of the tender.

The court observed that in the absence of test reports as mandated in the notice inviting tender PSPCL’s action is “found to be most arbitrary” because by doing so PSPCL placed an order for the supply of 1,000 highly sophisticated electrical meters without knowledge of the fact as to whether such meters are compliant with the prescribed technical specifications.

The court, however, left it open to the PSPCL to initiate a fresh tender process for the project.