PNC Infratech Limited and its two subsidiaries have been disqualified from participating in any new tender process of the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) for one year, including tenders from NHAI and NHIDCL. The disqualification follows a bribery case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which involved four employees of the company.
The CBI investigation, initiated in June 2024, uncovered that the employees had bribed NHAI officials with approximately INR 1 million in exchange for final approvals and the processing of a no-objection certificate (NOC) for the Jhansi-Khajuraho highway project. A charge sheet was filed in August 2024, leading to the recent disqualification decision by MoRTH.
Brokerage firm Nuvama has placed PNC Infratech’s stock ‘Under Review,’ citing concerns about the company’s order intake due to the one-year ban from MoRTH projects. The brokerage expects the stock to be under pressure in the near term, given the adverse impact on order accretion from MoRTH and associated agencies like NHAI. Although the company can still bid for tenders from other central and state government bodies, uncertainty about future order inflows remains.
PNC Infratech’s management has confirmed that the disqualification does not affect ongoing development, construction, and operations and maintenance activities. However, pending clarity on the company’s ability to secure new orders from other government agencies, Nuvama has opted to place the stock under review.
