The Gujarat High Court has dismissed a petition challenging key tender conditions for the state’s BharatNet project, clearing a major legal hurdle for a planned digital fibre backbone covering rural areas and public institutions across Gujarat.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Manas Ranjan Pathak and Justice Nikhil S. Kariel rejected the petition filed by GTPL Hathway Ltd against Gujarat Fibre Grid Network Ltd, which is implementing the revised BharatNet programme in the state, according to a report by Nav Gujarat Samay.
The project is valued at more than ₹5,000 crore and envisages laying over 30,000 kilometres of new optical fibre. The new network is to be integrated with more than 55,000 kilometres of existing fibre infrastructure, creating a wider public connectivity network for villages, gram panchayats, government institutions and public service centres.
The dispute centred on a tender condition requiring the agency operating the common public network to remain independent of private internet and telecommunications businesses that use the same infrastructure. GTPL challenged the condition, while the state government and Gujarat Fibre Grid Network defended it as a safeguard against conflicts of interest.
Government counsel G.H. Virk argued that an operator managing the common fibre network should not simultaneously belong to a commercial group competing with internet service providers dependent on that network. The state said the condition was intended to ensure fair access to network information, repair priorities, connectivity requests and future expansion plans.
The government also rejected the allegation that the condition had been designed to exclude GTPL from the bidding process. It told the court that the restriction was part of the broader BharatNet tender framework prepared and implemented nationally by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.
The state’s position was supported by the policy principle that BharatNet infrastructure is a public asset and should remain available to all service providers on fair and non-discriminatory terms. Senior advocate Kamal Trivedi represented the Centre and defended the national BharatNet and BSNL framework, including the policy of maintaining neutrality in network operations.
The court was also presented with material indicating that the restriction formed part of a wider national policy rather than a condition created solely for Gujarat. The dismissal allows the state’s tender framework for the revised BharatNet programme to proceed, although the report does not specify the project’s remaining implementation milestones or completion schedule.
