CJI led bench Today (April 10th) nullified a Rs 2,800 crore arbitral award that favored Anil Ambani’s company, Delhi Airport Metro Express Pvt Ltd (DAMEPL), against the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). This decision pertains to the dispute concerning the Delhi Airport Express Line.
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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India has overturned a Rs 2,800 crore arbitral award previously granted in favor of Anil Ambani‘s firm, Delhi Airport Metro Express Pvt Ltd (DAMEPL), against the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). This decision comes in light of a dispute concerning the operations of the Delhi Airport Express Line. The reversal was facilitated through a curative petition filed by DMRC, challenging a September 2021 judgment by the Supreme Court itself.
The bench overseeing this matter included Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, alongside Justices BR Gavai and Surya Kant. They collectively decided to restore the judgment initially issued by a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court, which had ruled in favor of DMRC before the Supreme Court’s previous intervention in 2021. This restoration implies that any amounts deposited by DAMEPL will be refunded, including any payments made as a result of coercive actions taken in the interim.
“The curative plea must be and is allowed. It is 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.
This landmark decision was guided by the principle that the Supreme Court’s curative jurisdiction should be exercised sparingly, to prevent its misuse for reopening settled matters. However, the court recognized that its earlier interference with the Delhi High Court’s Division Bench order, which had annulled the arbitral award, resulted in a “grave miscarriage of justice.”
“Interference of supreme court had led to grave miscarriage of justice,”
– Supreme Court said.
The background of this complex legal battle traces back to a 2008 concession agreement between DAMEPL, a special purpose vehicle of Reliance Infrastructure, and DMRC for the development of the Delhi Airport Express Line on a Build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis. DAMEPL terminated this agreement in 2012, citing unaddressed structural defects in the metro line, which DMRC allegedly failed to rectify despite notifications.
Subsequent to DAMEPL’s termination of the agreement, DMRC sought arbitration, leading to a 2017 Arbitral Tribunal ruling that awarded damages to DAMEPL, directing DMRC to pay Rs 2,800 crore plus interest. Although this award was initially upheld by a single judge of the Delhi High Court in 2018, a Division Bench later reversed this decision. The Supreme Court’s earlier ruling had reinstated the arbitral award in favor of DAMEPL, which has now been overturned in the latest judgment.
This oscillation in judicial decisions underscores the complexities inherent in contractual disputes and the arbitration process, especially in projects of significant infrastructural importance. The Supreme Court’s latest ruling not only has financial implications for the involved parties but also sets a precedent regarding the scope and application of its curative powers in the legal landscape of India.
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