Anil Ambani’s DAMEPL too influential? Supreme Court in DMRC case

The Supreme Court on Tuesday remarked that Anil Ambani group firm Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Limited (DAMEPL) appeared to be “too influential” and was receiving support through statements made on public platforms despite having lost its ₹8,000 crore arbitration dispute with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).

A Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul Pancholi made the comments during the hearing of proceedings concerning the refund of money paid by DMRC under the arbitral award that was later set aside.

The remarks came when Attorney General R Venkataramani and Additional Solicitor General N Venkataraman, appearing for the banks, sought more time to resolve the dispute internally.

“Things are at a standstill, my Lords, in this matter. We need a little more time to work it out,” AG said.

The Bench responded that it would hear the case if the parties wanted to argue it. The counsel, however, said that some progress had been made and sought another opportunity to arrive at an internal settlement.

“We don’t want two groups to be fighting here. We want to avoid that,” Senior Advocates said, prompting laughter in the courtroom.

The Court then pointed out that the banks were not the judgment debtors.

“But you are not the judgment debtor as such,” the Bench observed.

The Senior Counsel agreed and said,

“Judgment debtor is somebody else...Reliance."

The exchange led the Bench to remark,

“And the judgment debtor is now getting so many supporters also!”

The counsel then pointed out that contempt proceedings of court had been initiated against the banks.

“The judgment debtor appears to be too influential. We never thought that he is so influential...On public platforms, statements will come in favour of the person who has lost.”

The Court did not identify either the public statements or the persons who had made them.

The dispute originated from a 2008 concession agreement under which DAMEPL was to operate the Delhi Airport Express Metro Line. DAMEPL terminated the agreement in 2012 after alleging that DMRC had failed to cure structural defects.

An arbitral tribunal ruled in DAMEPL’s favour in 2017 and awarded it ₹2,782.33 crore with interest. By 2022, the liability was stated to have increased to about ₹8,000 crore.

The Supreme Court restored the award in 2021 after it had been partly set aside by a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court.

However, in April 2024, the Supreme Court allowed DMRC’s curative petition and reversed its earlier judgment. It held that restoration of the award had caused a “grave miscarriage of justice” by imposing an exorbitant liability on a public utility.

The Court directed that the execution proceedings be discontinued. It also ordered the refund of amounts deposited by DMRC and restoration of any money already paid pursuant to coercive orders.

DMRC later initiated contempt of court proceedings against DAMEPL, its officials and Axis Bank, alleging that approximately ₹2,599 crore, along with interest, had not been returned.

The banks have maintained that they were lenders and not judgment debtors. The funds received through the escrow arrangement were reportedly used to discharge loans advanced to DAMEPL.