HC to hear RInfra plea on Monday against DMRC to enforce SC order

The Delhi High Court will on Monday hear a petition by Reliance Infrastructure against Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to enforce a Supreme Court order for payment of Rs. 7,100 crore arbitration award to Anil Ambani company.

The Supreme Court has dismissed the review petition filed by state-owned DMRC against its order upholding an arbitral award in favour of Reliance Infrastructure’s arm, Delhi Airport Metro Express Pvt Ltd. DAMEPL previously operated the Delhi Airport Metro line.

Since the SC order was delivered on September 9, 2021, the interest liability of DMRC has already gone up by around Rs 200 crore. The Supreme Court bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao had quashed the Delhi High Court order that had set aside the arbitration award in favour of DAMEPL, which had pulled out from running the Airport Express metro line over safety issues.

The arbitral tribunal in its May 2017 award had accepted the DAMEPL’s claim that the running of operations on the line was not viable due to reasons such as structural defects.

In 2008, DAMEPL had entered into a contract with DMRC for running the airport metro line till 2038. When disputes arose between them, DAMEPL stopped operating the airport line and invoked an arbitration clause against DMRC. It alleged violation of contract and sought a termination fees.

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.

As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.

Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.

Digital Editor