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

The Supreme Court has dismissed the review petition filed by state-owned firms against its order upholding an arbitral award to Reliance Infrastructure subsidiary.

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.