In a notable legal development, the Supreme Court issued a notice to Delhi Airport Metro Express Pvt Ltd (DAMEPL) on Wednesday, in response to a contempt plea filed by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). The plea accuses DAMEPL of failing to reimburse more than Rs 4,500 crore, along with accrued interest, as previously mandated by an arbitral award.
The bench, comprising Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta, and Ujjal Bhutan, has scheduled the hearing for this matter on January 20, 2025. This legal move follows a turbulent history of disputes between DMRC and DAMEPL, which is a subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure Limited.
The root of the contention lies in an April 10 decision by the apex court, which reversed its own prior judgment that had initially compelled DMRC to pay DAMEPL an overwhelming Rs 8,000 crore pursuant to a 2017 arbitral award. However, this decision was overturned when the court allowed DMRC’s curative plea, challenging a 2021 judgment which had itself reversed an earlier Delhi High Court decision from 2019 that nullified the arbitral award against DMRC.
The Supreme Court, in its April ruling, emphasized that there had been a “grave miscarriage of justice,” leading to an unfair financial burden on DMRC, a public utility. The court underscored that the previous ruling from the Delhi High Court’s division bench was thoroughly considered and that there was no justified basis for the Supreme Court’s earlier interference.
In the intricate weave of legal proceedings, the DMRC has remained steadfast in its position that the termination of the concessionaire agreement by DAMEPL back in 2012, which halted its operations of the Airport Express metro line in Delhi, was illegal. This has led to a prolonged legal battle marked by appeals and petitions culminating in the current contempt proceedings.
The historical backdrop of this legal saga includes a May 2017 ruling by an arbitral tribunal which sided with DAMEPL, acknowledging its claim that the Airport Express line was non-viable due to structural flaws in the viaduct. Despite these ongoing challenges, DMRC has paid a significant portion of the arbitral award, but a substantial amount remains outstanding, further complicating the financial and operational dynamics between the two entities.
