The Supreme Court has issued an interim order not to blacklist Omni Business Corporate International (OBCI) for the time being. A single bench of Justice Purushottam Bhandari issued the order.

The Public Procurement Monitoring Office on September 14 had decided to blacklist Omni for one year for its involvement in a controversial procurement deal of medical supplies.

Omni had knocked the Supreme Court’s doors last Friday against the decision. The apex court passed the interim order after initial hearing of Omni’s plea. Although the details of order has not been made public, the Supreme Court’s website states ‘show cause and an interim order’ on the case.

On April 1, the Department of Health Services scrapped its agreement with Omni regarding the purchase of protective gear, reagents and other medical equipment from China after it was revealed that the company had secured the contract despite quoting much higher prices compared to the prices quoted by other bidders.

The Public Procurement Monitoring Office cited the firm’s failure to supply adequate medical goods in the first batch of delivery and its lack of ability to deliver all goods in time as the reasons for its decision to blacklist the company on the recommendation of the Department of Health Services.

Omni had agreed to import medical equipment relating to COVID-19 worth Rs 1.25 billion in three lots. But it failed to meet its commitment late into the deadline and managed to import only 10 percent of the said goods in the first lot despite the commitment to bring 75,000 test kits and medical equipment within two days.