Delhi HC asks for DMRC bank details on DAMEPL plea on arbitration sum
New Delhi, December 22 (IANS): The Delhi High Court on Wednesday ordered the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to provide details of amounts in its bank accounts on an enforcement request filed by Delhi Airport Metro Express Pvt Ltd (DAMEPL) asking for the payment in an arbitration dispute in which Reliance Infra won.
In an order, Judge Suresh Kumar Kaith ordered the DMRC to provide details of his bank accounts in Delhi or outside Delhi.
“The amount that is in the bank account will also be mentioned in the affidavit,” the court said, following Solicitor General Tushar Mehta’s submission on behalf of DMRC.
Previously, the DMRC had said that an amount of Rs 1642.69 crore was available in his bank account. The case has now been set for a rehearing on January 11, 2022.
The DMRC is to pay an arbitration award of approximately Rs 7,200 crore to the subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure Delhi Airport Metro Express Pvt Ltd (DAMEPL).
The Supreme Court confirmed the arbitration award of Rs 7,200 crore in favor of DAMEPL on September 7, 2021.
More than six hearings have been held so far on DAMEPL’s execution petition, to enforce Supreme Court decree of Rs 7,200 crore against DMRC, yet DMRC has not proposed a pledge / plan clear to make payment.
Meanwhile, the delay in the payment of compensation by the DRMRC, an Indian government company, places an additional interest charge of Rs 2.0 crore per day on taxpayers’ money.
DMRC’s delay since sentencing by the Supreme Court on September 9 has already cost the Treasury more than Rs 200 crore in additional interest so far.
According to legal sources, all of DMRC’s conduct is also in flagrant violation of General Finance Rules (RGF) Rule 227A, issued by the Expenditure Department of the Ministry of Finance on October 29, 2021, which clearly states that in cases where the ministry / department has contested the award and the award money has not been paid, 75% of the award (which may include up-to-date interest on the award) must be paid by the relevant ministry / department to the contractor / concessionaire.
In addition to this, the “General Instructions on Procurement and Project Management” published by the Expenditure Department of the Ministry of Finance on October 29, 2021 points out that appeals are sometimes invoked by government officials to postpone the issue. and defer personal liability and such flippant call in business resulted in the payment of additional damages / indemnities / interest costs, thus causing more damage to the board.
The instructions make it clear that officials responsible for non-compliance with rule 227A of the FGR would be held personally liable for the additional interest generated, in the event of a final court order against the entity.
Based on the instructions, personal liability should be placed on the relevant DMRC officials.
We learn that, on the monetary decree of over Rs 7,250 crore against DMRC, Rs 2,945 crore is the principal amount and the remaining Rs 4,305 crore is the interest before and after the award.
The DMRC has been using project assets built / installed by DAMEPL and project revenues since July 2013.
DAMEPL had won its case before the Supreme Court against DMRC, on the issue of the termination of the concession contract for the airport metro express line. Termination indemnity and others
compensation, under the arbitration award of 11.05.2017, were confirmed by the Court of Cassation on 09.09.2021.
DMRC’s motion for review against this judgment was also summarily dismissed by SC on November 23, 2021.
