The Delhi High Court on Wednesday rejected the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd.'s (DMRC) challenging its previous order asking DMRC to pay Rs 60 crore to Reliance Infrastructure Ltd.'s lenders. This was part of an arbitral award that the Anil Ambani-led company won last month.
DMRC argued that the single judge bench order is ultra vires (beyond one's legal authority) until it challenges the main arbitral award under Section 34 of the Arbitration Act.
But the bench hearing the plea headed by Justice GS Sistani said there was no grounds made out to allow DMRC plea.
The interim order was passed on May 30 by Justice Vibhu Bhakru who is hearing an appeal filed by the DMRC against the Rs 2,950-crore arbitral award.
The amount will be paid to Axis Bank Ltd., the lead lender in the Delhi airport metro project, on behalf Reliance Infrastructure.
The arbitral tribunal had held the decision of Reliance Infrastructure's subsidiary Delhi Airport Metro Express Pvt. Ltd. to terminate its concession agreement for the project four years ago as valid, the company had said in a media statement. It intended to pay back Rs 1,900 crore to its lenders from the award.
A three-member tribunal bench, chosen from a DMRC-nominated panel, had unanimously ruled in favour of Reliance Infrastructure after hearing the case for about three-and-a-half years, the statement had said.
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