Supreme Court overturns Rs 8000 Crore liability verdict against Delhi Metro

The Supreme Court, on Wednesday (April 10), relieved the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) of a significant liability amounting to approximately Rs 8000 crores. This decision overturned a 2021 judgment that upheld an arbitral award in favor of the Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Limited (DAMEPL), a subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure, against the DMRC.

The arbitral award, issued in 2017, had imposed a liability on the DMRC, including interest and other charges, totaling over Rs 8000 crores. In response to a curative petition by the DMRC, the Supreme Court overturned its own 2021 judgment. The bench, comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices BR Gavai and Surya Kant, concluded that the Supreme Court had erred in interfering with the 2019 judgment of the Delhi High Court, which had initially set aside the arbitral award against the DMRC.

The bench pointed out that the Supreme Court shouldn't have interfered with the Delhi High Court's decision under Article 136 of the Constitution. They said that this earlier decision caused unfair harm to a public service, constituting a miscarriage of justice. Hence, the Court invoked its curative jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution to rectify the error and set aside its 2021 judgment.

As a result, the Court restored the parties to their positions as per the Delhi High Court's judgment. It directed the refund of amounts deposited by the DMRC and discontinued execution proceedings for the arbitral award. The Court clarified that its curative jurisdiction would be exercised sparingly and only in deserving cases.