MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) High Court has dismissed a writ petition filed by two construction firms challenging their disqualification from a public works tender, ruling that the petitioners had failed to avail themselves of the statutory remedy available under procurement laws.

The petition, filed by M/s Naveed Construction Pvt Ltd and M/s Subhan Construction Company, had assailed a decision of the Grievance Redressal Committee (GRC), terming it illegal, arbitrary and based on “hyper-technicalities”.

However, Justice Syed Shahid Bahar, the senior puisne judge who heard the case, held that the petitioners had bypassed the appellate forum provided under Rule 48(7) of the AJK Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) Rules, 2017, and directly invoked the court’s constitutional jurisdiction without sufficient justification.

The court observed that an effective alternate remedy in the form of an appeal before the PPRA appellate forum was available to the petitioners, and that extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 44 of the AJK Interim Constitution, 1974, could not ordinarily be exercised in such circumstances.

Published in Dawn, April 16th, 2026