The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRC) has failed to comply with the Delhi High Court order dated September 6 directing DMRC to pay Rs 4,447.56 crore to Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Limited (DAMEPL) by October 4.
The Delhi High Court, in its last order dated 6 September 2022, had directed DMRC to pay the entire amount of Arbitral Award of Rs 4,500 crore due to DAMEPL, in four weeks time i.e. by 4 October, but DMRC has failed to comply with the order of court as it did not make any payment to DAMEPL as the deadline ended on October 4. The next hearing in this matter is slated for October 10. It may be noted that the entire sum of Rs 4,447.56 crore is to go to the lenders of DAMEPL and its promoter company Reliance Infrastructure Ltd, most of whom are public sector banks. In the last six months, this is the third contempt of the High Court order by DMRC.
When contacted, Principal Executive Director Delhi Metro, Anuj Dayal refused to comment on the issue. “As the matter is subjudice we would not like to comment on the matter,” Dayal said.
In 2008, DMRC signed a contract with DAMEPL, related to the design, installation, commissioning, operation and maintenance of the line. DMRC in 2012 invoked arbitration after DAMEPL terminated the concession agreement on the grounds that defects pointed out in construction were not cured by DMRC within the stipulated 90 days. The Supreme Court in September upheld the 2017 arbitral award favouring DAMEPL.
The court on September 6 was informed that DMRC’s appeal against the March 10 order directing it to pay DAMEPL has been dismissed by the Supreme Court. While the counsel representing DMRC sought four weeks to pay the balance amount, senior advocate Harish Salve for DAMEPL submitted that no further time should be granted as the March 10 order was not adhered to and even further time granted till August 5 was not complied with.
However, the court said it deems it appropriate to direct that the balance amount in terms of the award be made within a period of four weeks and listed the matter for hearing on October 10.