1 2026:CGHC:16275-DB NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR WPC No. 1578 of 2026 1 - M/s Calcutta Springs Limited, Through Its Authorized Signatory, Mr. Mridul Hari Agrawal (General Manager), S/o Late Manoj Agrawal, Aged About 32 Years, R/o Rai Sahab Ka Bagicha, Sarkanda, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh Having Its Registered/ Main Office At 18, R.N. Mukherjee Road, Kolkata, West Bengal 700001 ... Petitioner(s) versus 1 - Union Of India Through Its Secretary, Ministry Of Railways, Rail Bhawan, New Delhi 110001 2 - South Eastern Central Railway Through Its General Manager, New Gm Building, Railway Colony, District - Bilaspur Chhattisgarh 3 - Principle Chief Materials Manager South Eastern Central Railways, New Gm Building, District Bilaspur Chhattisgarh 4 - Research Designs And Standards Organization (Rdso) Through Its Director General, Manak Nagar, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh – 226011 5 - Principal Chief Engineer (Pce) South Eastern Central Railways, New Gm Building, District Bilaspur Chhattisgarh ... Respondent(s) Digitally signed by ALOK SHARMA Date: 2026.04.20 11:38:37 +0530 2 For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Uday Gupta, Sr. Advocate along with Mr. Gagan Tiwari, Advocate. For Respondent(s) : Mr. Neeraj Baghel, Advocate. Hon'ble Shri Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice Hon'ble Shri Ravindra Kumar Agrawal, Judge Order on Board Per Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice 09/04/2026 1. The claim in the present writ petition filed by the petitioner is for a direction to the Respondent No. 4 to grant a provisional approval of the Concrete Sleeper Plant (CSP) of the petitioner, preferably before the last date of submission of bid i.e., 07.04.2026, quashing of the impugned tender No. 06265021 dated 16.03.2026 to the extent of Clause 6 and Clause 8.0 (B), also to extend the last date of submission of the tender issued by the Respondent No. 3 till the decision taken by the Respondent No. 4 with respect to the grant of provisional approval of CSP. 2. The petitioner prayed the following reliefs in the writ petition:- I. Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction in the nature of Mandamus, directing Respondent No. 4 to process and issue the provisional approval of the Concrete Sleeper Plant (CSP) of the petitioner forthwith, and preferably before the last date of submission of bids, i.e., 07.04.2026, in the interest of justice; 3 II. Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction in the nature of Certiorari, quashing and setting aside the impugned tender bearing No. 06265021 dated 16.03.2026, to the limited extent of Clause 6 and Clause 8.0 (B), insofar as they mandate possession of RDSO approval/certification as on the date of tender opening, being arbitrary, unreasonable and violative of Articles 14 and 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India; III. Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction in the nature of Mandamus, directing the respondents to extend the last date of submission of the tender bearing no. 06265021 dated 16.03.2026 issued by respondent no.3 until Respondent No. 4 takes a decision regarding grant of provisional approval of the Concrete Sleeper Plant (CSP) of the petitioner; IV. Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction directing the respondents to permit the petitioner toparticipate in the tender bearing No. 06265021 dated 16.03.2026, and to accept its bid provisionally, subject to grant of formal approval by Respondent No. 4; V. To grant any other relief(s)/order(s)/direction(s) in favour of the petitioner, which may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case, may also be allowed. VI. Call for record/ e-office portal of the case 4 from the respondent authorities.” 3. The subject matter, in brief, is that the petitioner M/s Calcutta Springs Limited established its Concrete Sleeper Plant at village Pendari, District Bilaspur, and engaged in manufacturing of Railway track fittings and PSC sleepers. He is an ISO certified supplier to the Indian Railway, and having sufficient experience in the field. The petitioner was awarded work for establishlization of manufacturing and supplying PSC mono-block sleeper by Ircon International Limited, vide acceptance letter dated 22.07.2022. He supplied Rs. 6,86,775 units of sleeper and completed his work under the said work order. During the aforesaid work awarded to them by Ircon International Limited, their Concrete Sleeper Plant was duly approved by the Respondent No. 4 for the work of Ircon International Limited. The petitioner submitted his application for enlisting of his Concrete Sleeper Plant for zonal railway on 06.02.2024. The Respondent No. 4, vide its letter dated 14.02.2024, directed the petitioner to submit a fresh application for supply of sleepers to zonal railways. 4. It is also the case of the petitioner that in furtherance of earlier instructions dated 19.02.2021 for provisional approval of developmental Concrete Sleeper Plants, the Respondent No. 1 issued another instructions on 29.09.2023, and as per the said instructions dated 29.09.2023, the firm desirous of setting up the new Concrete Sleeper Plant was required to apply through the 5 UVAM Portal. The activities involved in certification of Concrete Sleeper Plant is also provided in the said instructions, including documentation, verification, gauge checking, mix design approval/ sample testing and satisfaction and final decision after verification. Pursuant to the letter dated 14.02.2024, the petitioner submitted his application for approval of Concrete Sleeper Plant constituted at village Pendari, District Bilaspur, for manufacture and supply of PSC Sleepers to Indian Railways, before the Respondent No. 4. The deficiencies pointed out by the Respondent No. 4 in the application made by the petitioner have also been rectified as per the scrutiny report dated 30.05.2025, and then the Respondent No. 4 approved the documents, vide scrutiny result dated 01.07.2025. In the scrutiny result dated 01.07.2025, the Respondent No. 4 stated that since the Concrete Sleeper Plant proposal was directly submitted to the Research Designs and Standards Organization (RDSO), the petitioner was required to obtain verification of the source of raw materials for the mix design of concrete from the concerned railway. The petitioner has also submitted the requisite documents before the Respondent No. 3 on 08.07.2025. Further, the approval dated 01.07.2025 was also communicated by the Respondent No. 4 to the Respondent No. 2 on 04.07.2025. 5. Further, the Respondent No. 4, vide its letter dated 30.07.2025, informed the Respondent No. 2 and petitioner, that the STR layout would be verified on 04.08.2025 to 05.08.2025. Thereafter, vide 6 letter dated 27.11.2025, the capacity and capability assessment of the petitioner was also approved by the Respondent No. 4. It is also the case of the petitioner that the internal test report and gauge checking was approved by the respondent authorities through their letter dated 30.12.2025 and 19.02.2026. The Respondent No. 4 has also granted provisional approval to the mix design on the basis of the interim testing report submitted by the petitioner, which was subject to further verification, and thereafter, the quality approval plant was also inspected on 27.02.2026 and 15.03.2026, and the relevant reports have been submitted by the authorities concerned. Thereafter, the petitioner submitted the quality test report on 20.03.2026. In the meantime, the Respondent No. 3 issued a tender on 16.03.2026 for manufacture and supply of prestressed mono-block concrete line sleeper for broad gauge for a period of 24 months. The total unit sleepers is to be supplied is 16,45,210 units, and the last date of submission of bids was 07.04.2026 at 10:30 pm. It was the condition of NIT dated 16.03.2026 that the Concrete Sleeper Plant certified by RDSO, as on the date of tender opening, for undertaking production of PSC main line sleepers or any category of PSC sleepers for Indian Railway, will be considered eligible for placement of orders. In Clause 8.0 (B) of the NIT, it was also condition that a valid RDSO approval/ provisional approval/ certification/ overside inspection report of showing production capacity. Despite completion of all the formalities, the Respondent 7 No. 4 have not issued the provisional approval of CSP to the petitioner, which amounts to arbitrariness and unreasonableness, particularly favouring a particular bidders. The request of provisional approval of CSP to the petitioner is pending for more than a year, and inaction on the part of the respondent authorities is violative of Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India, therefore, the petitioner filed the present writ petition claiming the aforesaid reliefs. 6. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioner would submit that despite completion of requisite formalities and stages of verification, inspection and certification, non-issuance of provisional approval of the Concrete Sleeper Plant to the petitioner is violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. Without any reason, their request has been withheld by the Respondent No. 4, only to keep it away from participation in the tender. The only issuance of formal provisional approval of CSP to the petitioner, all the process, have been completed. The non- issuance of provisional approval of CSP, despite fulfilling all the eligibility criteria and completing all stages of verification, give rise to mala fide action on the part of respondent authorities. The petitioner has a legitimate expectation that upon completion of all the formalities and compliance with the prescribed requirements the provsional approval of CSP would be issued to him within a reasonable time, and failure to issue the said provisional approval, defeats such legitimate expectation of the petitioner. The delay in 8 issuing the provisional approval of CSP to the petitioner resulted in great prejudice to the petitioner, in view of the tenders in this nature are floated once in a considerable period. The petitioner has completed all the procedural requirements, including documentation, scrutiny, gauge checking, sample testing, and only the final decision is remained to be taken by the Respondent No. 4, which is kept pending without any justifiable reason. The NIT itself provides a limited period of 20 days between issuance and last date of submission of bids, which presumes that eligible entities would either already possess approval or would be granted the same within a reasonable time frame. Despite diligently pursuing the grant of provisional approval for more than a year, the respondents have failed to take a final decision, therefore, the Respondent No. 4 may be directed to issue provisional approval of CSP within a reasonable time, and the last date of submission of bid in the NIT dated 16.03.2026 may be extended. 7. On the other hand, learned counsel appearing for the respondent/ Union of India, would submit that there is a condition in the NIT that the bidder should have possessed the Concrete Sleeper Plant certified by RDSO, as on the date of tender opening, for undertaking production of PSU main line sleepers or any category of PSU sleepers for Indian Railways. However, the petitioner does not possess the requisite certification from RDSO, though his application for provisional approval of CSP is pending before the 9 Respondent No. 4, but before participation in the tender, the said provisional approval of CSP is a pre-requisite condition, which is not in possession of the petitioner. He would also submit that with respect to the non-issuance of provisional approval of CSP by Respondent No. 4, the petitioner may approach before the authorities concerned and raise his grievances there. He would also submit that the RDSO is having its office at Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, and the petitioner have a remedy to approach before the competent forum under the competent jurisdiction. Issuance of the provisional approval of CSP is subject to the satisfaction of various verification reports, and the direction cannot be issued to issue the said certificate. The issuance of provisional approval having various facets and process of its consideration, which will take its own time, and the petitioner cannot claim as a matter of right for issuance of provisional approval of CSP, and no direction can be issued to the authorities concerned to grant the provisional approval of CSP to the petitioner. Admittedly, the petitioner does not fulfill requisite criteria of having possession of RDSO approval of CSP on the last date of submission of the bid, therefore, he cannot be permitted to participate in the tender process, or the last date of submission of bid cannot be extended. The requirement to build and maintain the railway track is essential and relates to public safety, therefore, the petitioner has no merit in the present writ petition, and the same is liable to be dismissed. 8. We have heard learned counsel for the parties, and perused the 10 material annexed with the petition. 9. Undisputedly, the Respondent No. 2 issued a tender No. 06265021 on 16.03.2026, in which the last date of submission of bid was 07.04.2026 at 10:30, along with other conditions, the condition No. 6 relates to qualifying requirements, and condition No. 8.0 relates to documents to be attached, uploaded e-bid are there. It is necessary to notice here the said clause, conditions of the NIT, which are as under:- 6.0 Qualifying Requirements: of The tenderer (Concrete Sleeper Plant i.e CSP) must, fulfill all the following conditions to be eligible regular/developmental orders against this tender: for placement regular/developmental orders against this tender: Concrete Sleeper Plants (CSPs) certified by RDSO as on date of tender opening for undertaking production of PSC Main Line sleepers or any category of PSC sleepers for IR will be considered eligible for placement of orders (regular or developmental as per status of RDSO approval/provisional approval/certification/Oversight Inspection Report of CSP) against this tender.……………… 8.0 Documents to be attached/ uploaded along with e-Bid: Scanned copy of the following documents should be uploaded along with the e-Bid. (a) Proof of authority from Firm in favour of signatory of tender for digitally signing and submitting the tender document. (b)Valid RDSO approval/provisional approval/certification/Oversight Inspection Report of CSP showing production capacity.c) (c) Year-wise supply performance of CSP in last Five Years indicating closure and rejections details if any. (d) Any other document.” 11 10. Further, it is also not in dispute that on the cut-off date, i.e., on 07.04.2026, the petitioner does not have in possession of the RDSO provisional approval certificate for CSP, which makes the petitioner eligible to participate in the NIT. Though the petitioner is claiming that he has already completed all the requisite formalities for issuance of provisional approval of CSP, and all the inspections and verifications is remained to be issued by the RDSO, but the same does not meet the requisite eligibility criteria of having RDSO provisional approval for CSP. As has been pleaded in the writ petition, as well as documents annexed in it, it transpires that there are various stages and process of inspection and verification under the rules and guidelines for issuance of provisional approval of CSP, the satisfaction of the authorities concerned are also required before issuance of provisional approval of CSP to the petitioner. In the undisputed facts of the case that the petitioner does not have any RDSO provisional approval certificate for CSP, he cannot be declared as eligible to participate in the NIT, or the cut-off date of the NIT for submission of bid by the eligible candidates cannot be extended. 11. So far as the direction to the Respondent No. 4 for issuance of provisional approval for CSP is concerned, no such direction can be issued under the facts and circumstances of the present case, as the process of grant of provisional approval is governed by a detailed and structured mechanism. The said mechanism involves multiple stages, including scrutiny of documents, verification of 12 source materials, inspection of plant and machinery, gauge checking, mix design approval, testing of samples, and evaluation of capacity and capability of the plant. Each of these stages requires technical assessment and satisfaction of the competent authorities, based on reports submitted by the concerned officials. Therefore, in absence of completion of the entire process and final satisfaction being recorded by the competent authority, this Court cannot issue a mandamus directing grant of provisional approval. 12. Further, it is not in dispute that the RDSO is having its office at Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, and the petitioner had submitted its application before the said authority for grant of provisional approval for its CSP. In such circumstances, if the petitioner is aggrieved by any inaction, delay, or decision on the part of the said authority, it is open for the petitioner to approach the appropriate forum having territorial and subject-matter jurisdiction to seek redressal of its grievance and to pray for appropriate directions against the RDSO at Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. 13. The process of provisional approval of CSP by the RDSO cannot be interfered with by this Court, particularly in exercise of its writ jurisdiction, for the reason that the same involves technical evaluation and subjective satisfaction of the competent authorities. Non-fulfillment of any of the prescribed requirements or deficiency at any stage of the process would render the 13 applicant ineligible for grant of such approval. The determination as to whether the petitioner has fulfilled all requisite formalities, complied with the prescribed standards, and satisfied the technical criteria, is a matter to be examined by the expert authorities concerned, and not by this Court on the basis of documents placed on record. Therefore, this Court refrains from entering into such disputed and technical questions, which fall within the exclusive domain of the competent authority. 14. Accordingly, we do not find any scope for interference in the present writ petition or to grant the reliefs claimed by the petitioner. 15. Consequently, the writ petition fails and is hereby dismissed. Sd/- Sd/- (Ravindra Kumar Agrawal) (Ramesh Sinha) Judge Chief Justice Alok