In a significant setback for Anil Ambani’s Reliance Infrastructure, the Supreme Court has directed the firm to repay the entire amount given by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Ltd. The order comes as a resolution to a long-standing dispute that arose from a concession agreement made in 2008 for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the Delhi Airport Metro Express line.
The controversy began when the agreement was terminated in 2012 by the Delhi Airport Metro, citing unaddressed deficiencies by the DMRC. In 2017, an arbitration tribunal validated the company’s decision to end the concession agreement four years prior, awarding them a sum of Rs 2,950 crore, including interest.
This amount escalated to nearly Rs 8,000 crore after various legal battles and a Supreme Court decision in 2021, which finalized the amount including interest. The net recoverable amount has since exceeded Rs 4,700 crore.
