In a significant development, the Supreme Court has overturned a ₹2,800 crore arbitral award. It favors the Anil Ambani firm known as Delhi Airport Metro Express Pvt Ltd (DAMEPL). It is against the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) regarding the dispute over the Delhi Airport Express Line. The decision came in response to a curative petition filed by DMRC. They had filed it against a previous judgment of the apex court issued in September 2021.
Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices BR Gavai and Surya Kant, allowed the curative petition. It effectively restored a Division Bench order of the Delhi High Court that ruled in favor of DMRC. The Supreme Court clarified that its curative jurisdiction should not be used as a floodgate but deemed interference in this case necessary due to a grave miscarriage of justice.
The dispute stemmed from a 2008 concession agreement between DAMEPL and DMRC. It was for the Delhi Airport Express Line on a Build–operate–transfer (BOT) basis. Later, it led to the termination of the agreement by DAMEPL in 2012. This was due to alleged structural defects, DMRC invoked arbitration. Thus, leading to the arbitral tribunal awarding damages to DAMEPL in 2017.
However, a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court overturned the award in 2018. This was later reinstated by the Supreme Court in 2021. Now, with the Supreme Court setting aside the arbitral award, the case takes a new turn.
Senior Advocates Mukul Rohatgi, Harish Salve, Kapil Sibal, JJ Bhatt, and Prateek Seksaria represented DAMEPL, while Attorney General R Venkataramani, along with Senior Advocates KK Venugopal, Parag Tripathi, and Maninder Singh, appeared for DMRC.
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