NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has been approached with a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Indian Embassy in Oman over the issuance of the Request for Proposals (RFP 2025).
The tender, floated on February 4, 2024, invites bids from service providers for managing Consular, Passport, and Visa (CPV) services, along with additional Value Added Services.
The petition raises objections to the RFP’s pricing structure, which mandates a single, bundled charge for both standard application processing and optional Value Added Services, regardless of whether applicants use them.
The petitioner argues that this approach enables service providers to generate revenue from unutilised services, which contradicts the fundamental principles of contract law. Under the current system, applicants pay only for services they choose, ensuring fairness in cost distribution.
A key concern highlighted in the plea is the financial strain this change could impose on Indian expatriates in the Gulf, many of whom have limited earnings.
Given the essential nature of CPV services for millions of overseas Indians, the petitioner contends that the revised pricing model would disproportionately burden applicants while creating an unjust financial advantage for service providers.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela took up the matter, deferring it to March 21.