Delhi High Court rejects Delhi Metro’s request for reimbursement of Rs 678 Crore paid to Infrared lenders Reliance
DMRC filed the Claim for Compensation in February 2019 in Delhi HC.
The Delhi High Court on Friday rejected the Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC) Claim for Compensation of Rs. 678 crore paid by the company to the lenders of Delhi Airport Metro Express Pvt. Ltd, (DAMEPL), a subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure Limited, in 2018. A Divisional bench of Judges Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh dismissed the DMRC’s plea.
“Experienced attorneys for appellants say that the Supreme Court rejected the Petition for Priority Review in Civil Appeal No. 5627/2021 read in conjunction with Civil Appeal No. 5628/2021 under order dated September 9, 2021. Therefore, this application does not exist, the Court said.
This amount was paid by the DMRC to the lenders of Delhi Airport Metro Express Pvt Ltd (DAMEPL) by order of High Court Judge Delhi Bench having upheld Rs. Arbitration award 47.00 crore in favor of DAMEPL.
In January 2019, the Delhi High Court’s Panel of Judges, while setting aside the Arbitration Award, allowed the DMRC to file an appeal against the Order of the Sole Judge Seat in May 2018 and also allow the DMRC to claim a refund of Rs. 678.42 crore paid by the company to DAMEPL’s lenders over time,
To claim the refund, DMRC filed a Claim Form in February 2019 in Delhi HC. The Supreme Court recently upheld a 2017 arbitration award that ordered the Delhi Metropolitan Railway Corporation (DMRC) to pay damages of approximately Rs 2,800 crore with interest to Reliance Infrastructure Ltd.
Reliance Infrastructure’s unit in 2008 signed a joint contract with Delhi Metro to run the country’s first private city rail project until 2038. When disputes arose over fees and operations in 2008. In 2012, Ambani’s company stopped operating the capital’s airport metro project and filed an arbitration case against Delhi Metro alleging breach of contract and demanding a termination fee.
The arbitrator was previously challenged at the Delhi High Court. Reliance Infra subsequently objected to this decision of the Delhi High Court’s two-judge bench before the High Court. The highest court has now dropped the Delhi High Court order and asked the DMRC to respect the arbitral award.
The Supreme Court has also ruled that this Rs 2,800 crore will be returned to the company with interest accrued over a period of 8 years. This amount will be given by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited to Reliance Infrastructure.
