New Delhi: Declining to interfere with the Bombay High Court’s ‘justified’ decision, the Supreme Court on Friday refused to put a brake on the ongoing construction work for the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) in Mumbai by the Adani Group.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice P.V. Sanjay Kumar refused to overturn the High Court’s December 2024 decision in favour of the Adani Group.
The apex court also declined an oral plea by UAE-based Seclink Technologies Corporation for a status quo order on the project.
The CJI-led bench remarked orally that the High Court’s decision — upholding the tender awarded to Adani Properties Private Limited — was justified as the railway line would also be developed and incorporated into the project.
The apex court also issued notice to the Maharashtra government and Adani Properties on the petition filed by Seclink Technologies challenging the Maharashtra government’s decision to cancel its 2019 bid for the redevelopment of Dharavi slums and issue a fresh tender in 2022 to Adani.
In December 2024, the High Court’s division bench of Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar dismissed a petition filed by Seclink Technologies, saying: “The grounds raised in the petition lack force and effort. The challenge to the government’s action of cancelling the earlier tender and issuing a fresh tender award fails.”
On Friday, the Supreme Court heard Seclink’s plea after it proposed to increase its offer of Rs 7,200 crore for the project by 20 per cent.
The apex court then ordered Seclink to file an affidavit on its proposal and listed the matter for hearing on May 25.
Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Adani, argued that equipment worth hundreds of crores of rupees had already been purchased by the company, after which the apex court ordered it to maintain an escrow account for all the payments.
The Adani Group had emerged as the highest bidder for the 259-hectare Dharavi Redevelopment Project and bagged it with its Rs 5,069-crore offer in the 2022 tender process conducted by the state government.
In the first tender issued in 2019, the petitioner company had emerged as the highest bidder with its Rs 7,200-crore offer.
Later, the Eknath Shinde government cancelled the 2019 tender and issued a fresh one in 2022 with additional conditions. The state government decided to include 45 acres of railway land in the project for slum rehabilitation, an element not included in the original proposal.
Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni had recommended that the state government issue a new tender to reflect the changes and incorporate factors like the costs of acquiring this land.
Dharavi, one of the world’s largest slums, is spread over 2.8 sq km of prime land near the central business district of Bandra-Kurla Complex. The Dharavi redevelopment plan seeks to replace the existing informal settlements with modern housing, infrastructure, and commercial spaces.
(IANS)
