Dharavi redevelopment: Supreme Court issues notice on UAE firm's plea against award of tender to Adani

The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the Maharashtra government and Adani Properties on a petition filed by UAE-based 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. .A bench led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar entertained the plea after Seclink said it would increase its offer of ₹7,200 crore by 20 per cent.The Court then ordered Seclink to file an affidavit in this regard and listed the matter for hearing on May 25."Now a statement is made that they shall shell out a higher amount than the biggest bidder. All other conditions which the highest bidder has agreed which means ₹1,000 crore towards lease and ₹2,800 crore toward indemnity amount. Petitioner shall also fulfill all other obligations. Let fresh affidavit be filed," the Court recorded in the order..On December 20 2024, the Bombay High Court upheld the State's decision to cancel Seclink's 2019 bid for the redevelopment of Dharavi slums and issue a fresh tender in 2022 in favour of Adani. Seclink then moved the top court. Senior Advocate Aryama Sundaram represented Seclink. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta represented the Maharashtra government and Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi appeared for Adani.After Rohatgi today argued that equipment worth hundreds of crores has already been purchased by Adani, the Court ordered it to maintain an escrow account for all the payments.Meanwhile, the Court declined an oral request for a status quo order on the project..Before the High Court, Seclink had challenged the government’s decision, seeking to overturn the cancellation of its winning ₹7,200 crore bid for the Dharavi redevelopment project. The government had annulled the original tender and initiated a fresh bidding process in 2022, ultimately awarding the contract to Adani Infrastructure and Developers.The company had initially emerged as the highest bidder in 2019, trumping Adani’s ₹4,539 crore bid. However, in 2022, the Maharashtra government decided to modify the project by incorporating 45 acres of railway land to facilitate slum rehabilitation. This additional land had not been included in the original tender proposal.Consequently, the State government scrapped the 2019 tender and initiated a fresh auction in 2022..In its defense, the Maharashtra government maintained that the decision to revise the tender was neither arbitrary nor intended to benefit any particular entity.The State asserted that the economic landscape had shifted considerably between 2019 and 2022, necessitating changes in project terms. Key factors influencing this shift included the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, fluctuations in the Rupee-USD exchange rate, rising interest rates and an increasingly high-risk investment environment.Given these economic disruptions, the government argued that revising the project’s financial framework was essential to ensure its viability. The new bidding process, it stated, was designed to align with contemporary market conditions and protect public interest.