Mumbai: Megha Engineering Infrastructure Ltd. (MEIL) has approached the Bombay High Court, challenging the maintainability of a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by senior journalist V. Ravi Prakash. The PIL, which was filed last month, seeks a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the awarding of a tender for the construction of the Twin Tube Road Tunnel project between Borivali and Thane. The project, valued at Rs 16,600.40 crore, was awarded to MEIL by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).
In the PIL, Ravi Prakash alleges that fraudulent bank guarantees (BGs) were issued by a foreign entity on behalf of MEIL, which were submitted to MMRDA. Ravi’s petition, filed with the backing of senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, calls for a thorough investigation into these claims.
Represented by senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Darius Khambata, MEIL has contended that Ravi’s PIL is based on misleading facts and questioned his right to file the petition, citing his lack of standing in the matter. MEIL argued that Ravi had failed to disclose relevant information to the court, specifically referring to past legal disputes involving the journalist.
One such dispute was a company petition Ravi filed before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Hyderabad, in 2019. In his petition, Ravi challenged his removal from ABC Pvt. Ltd., a company in which an MEIL subsidiary holds a significant stake. The NCLT dismissed Ravi’s petition in June 2022 and imposed a Rs 10 lakh cost on him. Although the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), Chennai, later stayed the cost in July 2022, MEIL contends that Ravi deliberately omitted this information when filing the PIL.
Additionally, MEIL pointed to a letter dated July 28, 2024, from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting regarding allegedly defamatory content published by Ravi against the company. The company also highlighted Ravi’s social media posts from February 12 and 13, 2025, where he criticized the judiciary and implied that the PIL was driven by a personal vendetta.
MEIL further accused Ravi of intentionally suppressing material facts related to previous disputes involving shareholders, civil cases, and criminal matters with the company. The company also alleged that Ravi enclosed confidential government documents in his petition without authorization or disclosure of their source, raising concerns about the legitimacy of the PIL.
A bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Bharati Dangre has directed Ravi to submit a response to MEIL’s plea. The matter has been scheduled for hearing on March 5.
This legal battle has raised questions not only about the validity of the PIL but also about the broader implications of the allegations involving MEIL’s handling of the prestigious road tunnel project. The outcome of the court’s decision on the matter is being keenly watched as it unfolds.