Delhi government has refused to pay for arbitration award to Anil Ambani owned DAMEPL: DMRC tells Delhi High Court

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) informed the Delhi High Court on Wednesday that the Delhi government has refused to provide ₹3,565 crore as equity to pay the arbitration award owed to Anil Ambani-owned Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Limited (DAMEPL). .An affidavit was filed by the DMRC stating that in its letter dated December 21, the Delhi government said that the DMRC shareholders cannot be held liable for payments arising out of disputes or contractual defaults. DMRC may raise money from open market or through externally aided funds or loan from Government of India to meet its liability, Delhi government said in its letter. .Attorney General (AG) R Venkataramani appeared for the DMRC before single-judge Justice Yashwant Varma today and told the court the matter is under active consideration of the appropriate authorities. Venkataramani added that the DMRC is hopeful that this impasse will be resolved by January 16. Senior Advocate Jaideep Gupta, appearing for DAMEPL, said that the difficulty is that today no assurance is coming. “They have to make a commitment today. A date has to come by when they will pay. Difficulty is very same lack of commitment which is the issue in the SLP before the Supreme Court. Whole point is there was a deadline which was taken away," Gupta argued. .The court the proceeded to list the matter for further consideration on January 19. .The Delhi High Court has been dealing with a petition filed by the DAMEPL (a subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure) seeking execution of the arbitration order from May 2017.While the total arbitration amount is stated to be ₹7,200 crores, DAMEPL claims that it is still to get nearly ₹4,500 crore. The award under consideration arose out of an agreement signed between the DMRC and DAMEPL in 2008 to develop and operate the orange line of the Delhi Metro that connects Indira Gandhi International Airport's Terminal-3 to Dwarka Sector-21.In March 2022, the High Court had directed DMRC to pay the entire balance amount to the DAMEPL along with interest in two equal installments, by May 31. This order was upheld by the Supreme Court on May 5.In December 2022, the Supreme Court asked the High Court to proceed with the matter expeditiously and decide it in three months. .Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.