Understanding The Legal Recourse For Technical Glitches In Online Bid Submissions

Online bidding has emerged as the preferred mode for the procurement of tenders across government and public sector undertakings, owing to its inherent attributes of efficiency, accessibility, and transparency. Central to this process are strict submission timelines imposed by the tender-inviting authority, which automatically disallow any bid submissions upon their expiration.

While such timelines preserve the integrity and transparency of the process, ensuring a level playing field and preventing bias, they have increasingly become a source of contention as bidders frequently encounter technical glitches on e-procurement portals, such as system freezing, portal unresponsiveness, or delayed performance, which may prevent them from completing bid submissions despite diligent efforts.