Win for Delhi Metro Rail Corporation as SC sets aside arbitral award in favour of Anil Ambani firm
In a big win for Delhi Metro, the Supreme Court on Wednesday set aside a Rs.2,800 crore arbitral award in favor of Anil Ambani‘s firm, Delhi Airport Metro Express Pvt Ltd (DAMEPL). A bench of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud with Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant allowed the Curative Petition filed by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) against a September 2021 judgment of the top court.
The apex court’s final decision is a big setback for bankrupt industrialist Anil Ambani, eyeing Rs.2800 crore from the public sector undertaking Delhi Metro. The top court restored a judgment rendered by a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court which had ruled in favour of Delhi Metro before the Supreme Court had set aside the same in September 2021.
“The curative plea must be and is allowed. It was restored to the position when the Division Bench (of High Court) order was passed. The amounts deposited by the petitioner (DAMEPL) shall be refunded. Any amount paid by petitioner as part of coercive action has to be refunded,” the Court ordered.
History of the case
Anil Ambani’s Reliance Infra got the contract to operate the Delhi Airport Metro in 2006. As per the contract, Delhi Metro had to construct the Airport Metro line and by 2009, Anil Ambani’s firms started complaining against the quality of construction and withdrew from the contract. The Delhi Metro carried out the work and successfully ran the Metro Rail to the Airport from Delhi City.
Anil Ambani’s firm approached the Arbitration Tribunal and won big compensation. Meanwhile, Anil Ambani also won the Mumbai Metro contract also, though exited from Delhi Metro. This is nothing but sheer crony capitalism by governments in power. Many Media firms were also hyped by Anil Ambani firm’s allegations of faults in construction, which have now been proved wrong, seeing the success of the Airport Metro project.
Delhi High Court’s Single Bench favoured the Arbitration Tribunal’s huge compensation to Anil Ambani-led firm. But the Division Bench favoured Delhi Metro and the Supreme Court in 2021 quashed this verdict. Now in a Curative Petition, the Supreme Court rectified its Order.
On Wednesday Supreme Court in the Curative Petition filed by Delhi Metro said: However, in the specific facts and circumstances of the case, the Court said that the Supreme Court erred in interfering with the Division Bench order of the High Court which had set aside the arbitral award. “Interference of Supreme Court had led to grave miscarriage of justice,” the Supreme Court said.
In its 2021 judgment, the apex court upheld the Rs.2,800 crore arbitral award in favor of the Anil Ambani firm. DAMEPL is the special-purpose vehicle of Reliance Infrastructure. The arbitration tribunal award is worth over 46.6 billion rupees ($632 million) including interest, according to Reliance Infrastructure’s annual report. Anil Ambani’s firm was represented by the country’s top lawyers like Mukul Rohatgi, Harish Salve, and Kapil Sibal. Attorney General R Venkataramani, and Senior Advocates K K Venugopal and Maninder Singh appeared for the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.
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