DELHI (Metro Rail News): The Delhi Airport Metro Express Pvt Ltd (DAMEPL) has filed a new suit with the Delhi High Court, seeking that the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRC) deposit Rs 6,208 crores into the project escrow account as soon as possible. DAMEPL has denied any out-of-court settlements or assignment of debt to the DMRC in its new application.
According to the DAMEPL plea, “The Decree Holder is adamant about not settling the case outside of court. As a result, Decree Holder rejects DMRC’s alternate plan and insists on a merits-based execution as soon as possible.”
The plea further claims that DMRC’s late payment is costing DAMEPL and its Promoter, Reliance Infrastructure Limited, significant harm. The Decree Holder may suffer irreparable loss and injury if the requested reliefs are not granted.
In the last hearing on January 24, 2022, DAMEPL mentioned the same position in the Supreme Court. The Delhi High Court will hear the Delhi Airport Metro-DMRC Case tomorrow, January 31, as ordered by the Supreme Court on January 24. In its order dated January 24, the Supreme Court declared, “The parties must appear in front of the High Court on January 31, 2022, to request an adjournment of the hearing.
We request the High Court to take up the matter at the earliest and dispose of the application without any further delay, as consequences of the pendency of the said application are detrimental to the interest of the petitioner as well as respondent.” Pursuant to this SC order, DAMEPL’s fresh application requests Delhi High Court to fix an early date in the first week of February for the final hearing and disposal of the execution petition.
Reliance Infrastructure injected Rs 2513 crores into DAMEPL through public sector bank loans, and the banks have begun liquidation proceedings against the business. DAMEPL and Reliance Infrastructure Ltd may suffer major consequences if the Arbitral Award is not satisfied.
The delay in satisfying the arbitral judgement is causing DMRC to accrue incremental daily interest of Rs 1.76 crores per day, totaling Rs 260 crores for the period September 10, 2021, to January 31, 2021.
DAMEPL had previously filed an execution case in the Delhi High Court on September 12, 2021, requesting that the court direct DMRC to comply with the SC ruling and pay the business Rs 7,200 crores. DMRC has paid only Rs 1000 crores out of a total of Rs 7200 crores.
The Supreme Court (SC) upheld the arbitration judgement of Rs 7,200 crores in favour of DAMEPL on September 7, 2021. The Delhi High Court had previously stated that Anil Ambani’s Reliance Infrastructure and its subsidiary, Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Limited (DAMEPL), are hiding from the Court and have not come before it with clean hands.
The statements were made while Justice Suresh Kumar Kait was hearing a DAMEPL execution petition seeking implementation of a Rs 7200 crore arbitration award it won against the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). The award was upheld by the Supreme Court as well.
The Bench, on the other hand, stated that whenever the DAMEPL is before the Court, they take a different stance, and that they are continuing to talk to the DMRC outside of the Court, and that the case would be heard again on March 29. DAMEPL signed a deal with DMRC in 2008 to operate the airport metro line until 2038. Due to disagreements between the parties, DAMEPL halted service on the airport line and invoked the arbitration clause against DMRC, alleging contract violations and seeking a termination fee.
