Bombay HC dismisses plea against tender awarded to Adani Group in Dharavi Slum issue
The Bombay High Court on Friday upheld the Maharashtra government’s decision to award the Dharavi slum redevelopment project in Mumbai to an Adani Group firm, ruling that there was no “arbitrariness, unreasonableness, or perversity” in the process.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar dismissed a petition filed by UAE-based Seclink Technologies Corporation, which had contested the state’s decision to award the project to Adani Properties Pvt Ltd for a ₹5,069-crore bid.
Seclink Technologies had previously emerged as the highest bidder for the project in 2018, offering ₹7,200 crore. However, the state government later scrapped that tender.
The court found no merit in the petition and rejected it.
“The grounds raised in the petition lack merit, and thus the challenge to the authorities’ decision to cancel the earlier tender process and initiate a fresh one fails,” the High Court observed.
In the 2022 tender process, the Adani Group emerged as the highest bidder for the 259-hectare Dharavi Redevelopment Project, located in the heart of Mumbai, with a ₹5,069-crore offer.
In the earlier 2018 tender, Seclink Technologies had submitted the highest bid of ₹7,200 crore. However, the government later canceled the tender and issued a new one in 2022 with revised conditions.
Seclink Technologies challenged both the cancellation of the 2018 tender and the subsequent award of the 2022 tender to the Adani Group, alleging that the revised process was “tailor-made” for the conglomerate.
In its judgment, the court noted that while the petitioner was the highest bidder in 2018, the government did not finalize the decision.
“Although the petitioner was declared the highest bidder, no decision was made on selecting the successful bidder, nor was any letter of award issued or agreement signed,” the court stated.
The bench emphasized that bidders in a tender process cannot claim their bid must be accepted simply because it is the highest or the lowest.
The state’s reasons for canceling the 2018 tender, the court noted, were not “non-existent, unjustified, or perverse.” The government’s actions were found to be free of “arbitrariness, unreasonableness, or perversity.”
The court also rejected Seclink’s claim that the 2022 tender conditions were designed to favor a specific company, noting that three bidders participated, with two meeting the technical qualifications.
The state government argued that the tender was awarded transparently and without undue favor to the Adani Group. It justified the 2018 tender’s cancellation by citing factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which had impacted the economic environment.
The first tender was issued in November 2018, and the bids were opened in March 2019, with Seclink Technologies emerging as the highest bidder. However, that same month, an additional 45 acres of land was made available for the project by Indian Railways, which altered the project’s scope.
The government contended that no contract had been formed with Seclink Technologies, meaning the petitioner had no legal right in the matter.
In November 2020, a government resolution canceled the 2018 tender, citing significant changes to the tender conditions after the “Bid Due Date.”
The government further argued that in the 2022 tender, all bidders, including Seclink, had the opportunity to submit fresh bids under the revised conditions.
Dharavi, a sprawling slum colony with a mix of residential and small industrial units, is the focus of this ambitious redevelopment project
