THE Supreme Court has granted interim relief to the Chhattisgarh Medical Services Corporation Limited (CGMSCL) by staying the payment of Rs 1 lakh compensation as well as adverse observations recorded against the Corporation in a judgment delivered by the Chhattisgarh High Court earlier this year, while issuing notice to the respondents in the matter. The interim order came during the hearing of a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by CGMSCL challenging the High Court’s judgment dated February 5, 2026. A Bench comprising Justice K V Viswanathan and Justice Alok Aradhe condoned the delay in refiling the petition, issued notice returnable on August 10, 2026, and directed that the award of costs along with adverse observations contained in paragraphs 24, 28, 29, 30 and 31 of the impugned judgment shall remain stayed until the next date of hearing. Appearing for CGMSCL, Additional Solicitor General Anil Kaushik, assisted by Advocateon-Record Kaustubh Shukla, argued that although the High Court had not interfered with the award of the tender, it had made unwarranted adverse observations against the Corporation.

 

The ASG further submitted that official communication had been made through one of the email addresses furnished by the respondents themselves and contended that the imposition of costs was unjustified. The litigation stems from a writ petition filed by Natwar Lal Agrawal, a Class-B registered civil contractor from Gharghoda in Raigarh district, through advocate Ashutosh Mishra, challenging CGMSCL’s decision declaring his bid ineligible and awarding the September 23, 2025 contract to Hitesh Suryavanshi. While the High Court had upheld the tender award, its Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Ramesh Chandra Sinha had directed CGMSCL to pay Rs 1 lakh compensation to the petitioner besides making adverse observations on the Corporation’s functioning. The Supreme Court’s interim order now keeps those directions in abeyance pending adjudication of the appeal.