The Supreme Court on Friday declined to impose a status quo on the Dharavi redevelopment project, allowing construction to continue while seeking responses from the Maharashtra government and Adani Properties Pvt Ltd on a petition challenging the Bombay High Court’s December 20, 2024 verdict. The high court had upheld the tender awarded to the Adani Group, rejecting claims of arbitrariness or favoritism and dismissing a plea by UAE-based Seclink Technologies Corporation, which had initially won the bid in 2018 with a Rs. 7,200-crore offer before the tender was scrapped and reissued in 2022, where Adani secured the project for Rs. 5,069 crore.
During the Supreme Court hearing, Seclink offered to raise its bid by 20% to Rs. 8,640 crore and requested a halt on the project, which the bench refused. The court directed the petitioner to file an affidavit confirming its commitment, while also instructing Adani Properties to channel project payments through a single bank account. With construction already underway and over 2,000 workers engaged, Adani’s legal team argued that halting the project would be disruptive. The next hearing is scheduled for the week of May 25, as the court considers the validity of the re-tendering process for the 259-hectare redevelopment of one of the world's largest slum colonies.