A procedural dispute over who could legally file the case will not stop a long-running claim arising from Mumbai’s Mithi River widening works, after the Bombay High Court allowed the matter to proceed.
The dispute dates back to a March 2007 contract awarded to the BPL-BBC Joint Venture for widening and deepening the Mithi River between Mahim Causeway and Dharavi Bridge. The joint venture comprised Backbone Projects Ltd and Backbone Construction Pvt Ltd.
Following disputes during execution of the project, the joint venture filed a commercial suit in 2017 seeking recovery of more than Rs 115 crore, along with interest.
MMRDA sought rejection of the plaint, arguing that the joint venture was not a separate legal entity and therefore could not institute proceedings in its own name. According to the authority, the two companies forming the joint venture should have filed the suit.
Justice Sandeep Marne rejected the plea, holding that the defect was procedural and could be cured. The court noted that the constituent companies had already been identified in the plaint and could be brought on record as plaintiffs.
The High Court’s order allows the Rs 115.65-crore claim to continue, leaving the underlying dispute over the Mithi River project to be decided on its merits.
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