PATNA, Feb. 11 -- The Supreme Court has upheld a Patna high court order cancelling the contract awarded by the State Health Society, Bihar (SHSB) to Hindustan Wellness Private Limited for providing pathological services across 693 government health facilities in the state. A division bench of the apex court comprising Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Augustine George Masih dismissed the special leave petitions filed by Gurugram-based Hindustan Wellness and Lucknow-based POCT Services, and directed the SHSB to take an appropriate decision after considering the tenders of all eligible applicants. The SHSB had earlier disqualified on technical grounds the financial bid of Bhopal-based Science House Medical Private Limited, which had quoted the lowest rate - a 77.06% discount on the state government's base price for tests derived from Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) rates. The company successfully challenged the decision in the Patna high court, which in its final order of August 8, 2025 annulled the award to Hindustan Wellness, the second-lowest bidder offering a 73.05% discount. The Supreme Court order, passed on February 3 and uploaded on its portal on February 7, is expected to ease pressure on the state exchequer, as the health department has been conducting pathological tests on its own since the contract dispute. Officials said the ruling is also likely to improve the quality and range of diagnostic services at government health facilities and reduce out-of-pocket expenditure for patients, particularly in remote rural areas who often travel to district hospitals or medical colleges for tests unavailable at lower-level facilities. Under the free diagnostic services initiative recommended by the Union health ministry, 134 tests are prescribed for district hospitals, 111 for sub-divisional hospitals, 97 for community health centres (CHCs), 63 for primary health centres (PHCs) and 14 at Ayushman Arogya Mandir-sub centres. However, due to shortages of trained manpower, equipment and reagents, only about half of the recommended tests are currently being conducted at most district hospitals, sub-divisional hospitals and CHCs, while around 80% of tests at sub-centre level are basic diagnostic kit-based investigations....