Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday quashed a contract termination notice issued by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to French consultancy firm Systra, which had accused several officials of the authority of corruption related to metro projects in the city.
The court said the decision of termination was “arbitrary and unfair” and directed the authority to consider the issue afresh after hearing the company.
In a statement, the MMRDA, however, claimed that Systra “misrepresented” certain facts to the representatives of the French government only after receiving the suspension and termination notices from MMRDA.
“This clearly indicates that the allegations are an afterthought aimed at deflecting attention from their own contractual breaches,” the authority said in astatement.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde asked a top official of the urban development department to probe the graft charges levelled by Systra related to metro projects in Mumbai, sources said.
Aseem Kumar Gupta, additional chief secretary (UD-1), has been asked to “inspect the matter after hearing company and MMRDA officials”, they said.
The MMRDA statement said the consultancy firm claimed that the issues began in August 2023 but did not submit any formal representation to the MMRDA.
the urban development department, the Chief Secretary’s Office, or the Chief Minister’s Office until after the suspension and termination notices were served.
They also pointed out that the so-called representation by Systra is unsigned, and as per the government of Maharashtra’s policy, such an unsigned document can only be treated as a “mere printout of wild allegations.”
“The French embassy merely forwarded this printout without endorsing its veracity or merit (to the Maharashtra government),” it stated.
In January this year, the MMRDA terminated the contract of Systra’s Indian subsidiary which had been appointed as a general consultant for design, assistance in procurement, construction, management and supervision of three routes of Mumbai Metro – Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan, Andheri-CSIA and Mira Bhayander – in 2021.
The issue gained attention when the French embassy sent a letter on November 12, 2024, to Rupinder Singh, the resident commissioner of Maharashtra in Delhi and asked the state government to investigate the matter thoroughly and to “resolve the situation,” citing Systra’s complaints of “severe harassment” encountered while serving as a general consultant on MMRDA projects.
Systra alleged that MMRDA officials sought “undue favours,” delayed payments, pressured the firm to inflate orders to contractors, stalled approvals for critical staffing, and imposed arbitrary penalties.
While the initial contract was to expire in November 2024, it was extended till December 2026.
But on January 3, 2025, the MMRDA issued the company a notice, stating it had decided to discontinue its services prompting the company to move the High Court.
