Mumbai News: Supreme Court Adjourns L&T's Plea On Thane-Bhayandar Tunnel & Elevated Road Project Bids, Citing 'No Extreme Urgency'

Mumbai: Noting that there was “nothing of extreme urgency”, the Supreme Court on Friday adjourned the hearing of petitions filed by Larsen & Toubro (L&T) challenging the Bombay High Court’s refusal to stay the opening of financial bids for two projects — the Thane-Ghodbunder to Bhayandar tunnel and the elevated road project.

A bench comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan said: “There is nothing of extreme urgency. Let this come up on Monday before the appropriate bench as assigned by the Chief Justice of India.” It then scheduled the petitions for hearing on May 26.

On May 20, the High Court had dismissed L&T’s petitions challenging the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority’s (MMRDA) decision not to inform the company of the status of its bids, noting that it was a “mega-infrastructure project of significant public importance.” The High Court had refused to stay the opening of the financial bids.

However, it directed that the price bids for the elevated road tender be preserved in a sealed cover for a week after the award of the contract, in accordance with tender norms. In contrast, the court declined to extend similar protection to the price bids for the Thane tunnel project.

L&T challenged these orders before the Supreme Court.

During the hearing on Friday, the apex court noted that the petitioner company had failed to attach the High Court orders and hence, it could not proceed with the matter.

“The High Court orders are not annexed. We don’t know what the matter is,” Justice Pardiwala remarked. The bench then asked L&T to provide copies of the High Court orders.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi, representing the Maharashtra government and the MMRDA, explained that the matter pertained to two tenders for projects involving a tunnel and an elevated road.

Senior counsel Abhishek Singhvi, representing L&T, submitted that the tendering process had started in July last year. He stated that the company was never informed about its disqualification.

In response to a query from the bench regarding whether L&T had learned the reasons for its disqualification during the High Court hearing, Singhvi said that the MMRDA had relied on a Supreme Court judgment which stated that only responsive bidders would be intimated.

The bench then reiterated that there was no urgency in the matter and scheduled it for hearing on May 26.

L&T had submitted its technical and financial bids on December 30, 2024. The technical bids were opened on January 1, 2025, but the company claimed it received no communication thereafter, prompting it to move the court.

The company alleged that the MMRDA’s silence violated principles of fairness and transparency. However, the High Court held that L&T had failed to mention or address key clauses in the tender that barred disclosure of bid evaluations until the contract was awarded.

The MMRDA contended that the tender conditions explicitly stated that only responsive bidders would be intimated. Since L&T’s bid was found to be non-responsive, the agency was under no obligation to communicate with the company.