In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court has allowed a curative petition filed by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), directing Reliance Infrastructure to refund the Rs 8,000 crore paid to its subsidiary Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Limited (DAMEPL).
DMRC had filed the curative petition challenging the arbitral award that had directed it to pay to the Reliance Infrastructure subsidiary.
The apex court has ordered the amount paid by DMRC to refunded and stated that the court made an error of judgement in interfering with the division bench order, causing grave miscarriage of justice.
Shortly after the court ruling, shares of Reliance Infrastructure slipped by 20 percent to hit the lower circuit.
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DMRC had filed a curative petition against a two-judge bench order of the supreme court, which had upheld the validity of the arbitral award in DAMEPL. A division bench of the Delhi High Court had set aside the award.
The case pertains to a 2008 agreement between Reliance Infrastructure and DMRC for Delhi Airport Express on a build–operate–transfer (BOT) basis. However, Reliance Infrastructure terminated the agreement in 2012. Subequently, DMRC invoked a clause seeking to initiate arbitration and in 2017, the arbitral tribunal awarded damages to the Reliance Infrastructure arm, directing DMRC to pay Rs 2,800 crore plus interest.
In 2018, a single-judge bench of the Delhi High Court upheld the award and directed DMRC to pay damages.
