New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday, July 15, cancelled the contract awarded to Alhind Tours and Travels LLC to operate Indian passport, visa and related consular services in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), directing the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to restart the procurement process.
The ruling also set aside the tender process for Consular, Passport and Visa (CPV) services at Indian missions in Kuwait, Singapore and Canberra, with the court directing the government to issue fresh Requests for Proposal (RFPs) for all four missions within one month.
The judgment followed petitions filed by E Trav Tech Limited and Verasys Systems, which challenged the technical evaluation carried out during the bidding process. The court held that the evaluation could not be sustained in law and consequently nullified the contracts awarded to the successful bidders.
“Accordingly, the present petitions are allowed. The impugned technical evaluation processes are set aside. Consequently, award of tender in favour of the private respondents shall also stand nullified,” the court said in its judgment.
Fresh tender process
The Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi had floated the tender in November 2025 for outsourcing passport, visa and other consular services. Kerala-based Alhind was selected after submitting the lowest financial bid and was scheduled to begin operations across the UAE from July 1.
However, the rollout was put on hold after the unsuccessful bidders challenged the evaluation process before the courts, delaying the launch of Alhind’s Indian Consular Application Centres.
Since early July, the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Consulate General of India in Dubai have been providing passport, visa and attestation services directly from their premises, marking the first time in 17 years that the missions have handled the services in-house.
Interim arrangements
While ordering a fresh tender, the High Court said the existing service providers may be allowed to continue operations until the procurement process is completed to ensure there is no disruption to public services.
The judgment, however, does not identify who should be treated as the existing service provider.
BLS International and SGIVS Global Services managed passport and attestation centres in the UAE until their contracts expired on June 30. Since then, the Embassy and Consulate have been operating limited appointment-based and walk-in services, leaving it to the authorities to determine how services will be managed during the interim period.
The court also disposed of all pending applications connected to the case.
At present, applicants must book appointments for passport and other consular services through the official online portal. The Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi accepts limited walk-in applications on weekdays, while the Consulate General in Dubai continues to provide services by appointment only.
