The Supreme Court directed the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to deposit ₹646.78 crore with the court by 6 November in its dispute with Reliance Industries Ltd over construction delays at the Jio World Convention Centre project. The order was passed on Monday by a bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu during the hearing of MMRDA’s challenge to an April 2026 Bombay High Court judgment, which had directed it to refund the amount to Reliance.
The dispute involves a 75,000-square-metre plot allotted by MMRDA to Reliance in 2006 for developing a convention and exhibition centre and a commercial complex at the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC). The lease required construction completion within four years, but the project was expanded and required additional approvals. MMRDA alleged delays and issued a demand in September 2017 for ₹646.78 crore, citing a delay of over seven years. In June 2019, it raised a further demand of ₹1,116.83 crore. Reliance challenged these demands before the Bombay High Court in 2018.
On 8 April 2026, the Bombay High Court quashed MMRDA’s demands, ruling that the four-year construction deadline should be counted from the date Reliance received an effective commencement certificate rather than from the lease agreement date. The court also found that MMRDA’s demands were not justified based on the revised timeline. MMRDA appealed this decision to the Supreme Court, which has now ordered the deposit of ₹646.78 crore pending further hearings.
The Supreme Court has issued notice to Reliance seeking its response to MMRDA’s allegations. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for 18 November, when the court will consider further submissions from both parties regarding the construction delay dispute at the Jio World Convention Centre project.