DMRC review petition against Reliance Infra to be heard on March 29

The DMRC filed a petition seeking a review of the order attaching funds of the metro operator to pay 2017 arbitral award dues to Reliance Infrastructure (RInfra) arm, Delhi Airport Metro Express (DAMEPL).

The Delhi High Court had on March 17 ordered the DMRC to pay the arbitral award dues with interest to DAMEPL, within a month.

In a 133-page judgment, the court had directed the Centre and the Delhi government to attend to DMRC’s request for an extension of sovereign guarantees or subordinate debt to help it pay its liabilities under the award. The Central and Delhi governments each hold 50 per cent shares in the DMRC.

Attorney General (AG) R Venkataramani, appearing for DMRC, told the court on Thursday that there is a small oversight about the attachment of certain parts which the earlier court has said may not be liable to be attached.

He also raised concern about a few expenses mentioned in the order which state that ‘in case the DMRC fails to pay the amount, the entire amount standing to the credit of Total DMRC Funds, Total Project Funds, and Total Other Funds as of today shall stand attached forthwith without reference to Court’.

The court also clarified that it is aware of what has been set aside(excluded from attachment) in the last order, that is, monies towards salaries, O&M(operation and maintenance) expenses, and security on smart cards (Rs 514 and 114 crores at that time).

The court had ordered the Union Ministry (of Housing and Urban Development) and GNCTD (Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi) to attend to the requests of the DMRC for extension of sovereign guarantees/subordinate debt enabling it to liquidate its liabilities under the award and take a decision within two weeks from March 17.

The order said that if permission is given to DMRC it should deposit the entire amount payable along with interest within a month.

The court said if the Union government or the GNCTD declines the request, the Union government shall at the end of two weeks repatriate all money received from DMRC after March 10, 2022, to ensure that the credit balance in the DMRC’s funds reflects what it was on that date.

The court also said in case DMRC fails to clear all arbitral dues despite the directions, the HC reserves the right to frame appropriate directions against the Union housing and urban development ministry and GNCTD.

This is because the judge said the Centre and Delhi government cannot hide behind the veil of corporate personality, a legal concept that separates the actions of an individual from a company.

The review plea of this order has been listed on March 29 for further consideration.
 

The AG also said that as of now he has no instructions about the current status from the Centre and GNCTD.

In the meantime, counsels for the Union government and GNCTD have been directed by the court to obtain appropriate instructions about the decision of UOI and GNCTD in terms of directions in the March 17 order.