In A Big Relief To DMRC, Apex Court Halts Rs 4,700-Crore Arbitral Award To RInfra's Subsidiary

In an unusual move, the Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned its 2021 judgment that upheld a Rs 4,700-crore arbitral award against Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) in favor of Delhi Airport Metro Express (DAMEPL), a Reliance Infrastructure subsidiary.

Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, leading a three-judge bench, labeled the judgment as "perverse" and "patently illegal." The bench argued that the 2021 verdict led to a serious miscarriage of justice by overriding a Division Bench decision of the Delhi High Court.

In granting the DMRC's curative petition, Chief Justice Chandrachud said it was perverse on the part of the two-judge Bench of the Supreme Court in 2021 to “saddle a public utility with an exorbitant amount of liability”.

The case revolves around a 2008 concession agreement between DAMEPL and DMRC for the Delhi Airport Express Line on a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis.

DAMEPL terminated the agreement in 2012, citing structural flaws in the metro line, leading to arbitration proceedings.