The Supreme Court is now stepping into a storm brewing beneath Mumbai’s infrastructure ambitions — a ₹6,000 crore mega project involving a tunnel and elevated road from Thane-Ghodbunder to Bhayandar — after construction giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T) accused the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) of playing fast and loose with the tender process.
This is no small skirmish. The company that built Central Vista is now knocking on the doors of India’s highest court, alleging it wasn’t just edged out — it was left in the dark.
The case was briefly touched upon earlier this week by a bench led by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice AG Masih. The moment L&T’s name surfaced, the bench reacted sharply, clearly aware of L&T’s pedigree in national infrastructure projects.
“The same company entrusted with Central Vista — and here, this happens?” the Chief Justice remarked with evident skepticism. “This involves thousands of crores in public money. If this isn’t cleaned up, we’ll put the High Court order on hold.”
L&T had taken its fight to the Bombay High Court after MMRDA opened financial bids without even informing the company of the status of its technical bid — a procedural snub that L&T says amounts to disqualification by stealth. The High Court dismissed both petitions, prompting L&T to escalate the matter to the Supreme Court.
The apex court, clearly unimpressed with the murky process, made it clear that in an age demanding transparency, opaqueness won’t fly. “Anything arbitrary must be challengeable,” the CJI said while listing the matter for detailed hearing on May 29.
According to L&T’s plea, it wasn’t just excluded — it wasn’t even told it was excluded. The company claims it received no official communication about being disqualified from the bidding process, and was never offered a chance to respond or clarify.
Represented by senior counsel AM Singhvi, L&T’s case is being shepherded through the court by Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas. On the opposing side, the MMRDA is being defended by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi.
The stakes are high, the money higher, and with the Supreme Court stepping in, the real construction now begins — on a case that could set a precedent for how infrastructure tenders are handled in the country’s public sphere.
