THE GOAN | MELBOURNE
The Delhi High Court has delivered a significant judgment that could affect thousands of Indians seeking passport, visa and consular services in Australia and a few other countries.
The Court has quashed the award of the tender for Consular, Passport and Visa (CPV) services for the Indian High Commission in Canberra, finding that the technical evaluation process lacked transparency and was arbitrary.
The ruling comes amid ongoing concerns from members of the Indian diaspora over disruptions to visa and passport services.
The case centered on the tender awarded for CPV services in Canberra, as well as Indian missions in Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Singapore. E TRAV Tech Ltd., one of the bidders, argued that although it had submitted the lowest financial bid (L-1) for all four missions, it was disqualified due to arbitrary deductions during the technical evaluation.
Court records show that for Canberra, the successful bidder quoted a service fee of AUD 114, while E TRAV Tech Ltd. had bid AUD 38. The company contended that despite offering the substantially lower price, its financial bid was not considered because of what it described as an unfair technical assessment.
In its judgment, the Delhi High Court held that the parameter-wise marking process suffered from arbitrariness, irrationality and lack of transparency, rendering the technical evaluation unsustainable under Article 14 of the Constitution. The Court allowed the petitions, set aside the technical evaluation and nullified the award of the tender.
The Court directed authorities concerned to issue a fresh Request for Proposal (RFP) for CPV services across all four missions within one month. However, to ensure there is no disruption to passport, visa and consular services, the Court permitted the existing service providers to continue operating until the fresh tender process is completed and new successful bidders are selected in accordance with law.
The judgment comes after months of uncertainty for the Indian community in Australia. Since the Ministry of External Affairs initiated the transition to a new service provider, passport, visa and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) services have faced significant disruption.
For more than six weeks, many applicants have reported delays in appointments, uncertainty over applications and confusion surrounding the future delivery of consular services.
Incidentally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to Australia had focused on strengthening India-Australia relations and engaging with the Indian diaspora.
However, many members of the Indian community expressed frustration that the prolonged disruption to essential consular services had not been resolved.
The uncertainty surrounding passport, visa and OCI services became a key concern for many Indian Australians during the Prime Minister's visit.
With the Delhi High Court now ordering a fresh bidding process, the proposed transition to a new visa outsourcing provider in Australia has been put on hold. The existing service provider will continue operating until a fresh tender is completed, offering some continuity for applicants while the procurement process is conducted afresh.
The judgment is expected to have significant implications for thousands of Indian passport, visa and OCI applicants in Australia in the months ahead.
