DAMEPL Playing 'Hide & Seek', Not Here With Clean Hands: Delhi High Court In Plea For Enforcement Of Arbitral Award Against DMRC

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday pulled up the Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Limited (DAMEPL) for playing hide and seek with the Court, adding that it was not coming to the Court with clean hands.

Justice Suresh Kumar Kait was hearing DAMEPL's plea against Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) seeking enforcement of the arbitration award dated May 11, 2017.

The Court was of the view that DAMEPL was holding simultaneous communications with DMRC in order to settle the dispute.

"Since the petitioner's counsel is making a submission before the Court and simultaneously communicating with the judgment debtor to settle the dispute in the manner, in this fashion, the decree holder is not coming to Court with clean hands," the Court said while renotifying the matter for further hearing on March 29.

After the Court had last month directed DMRC to furnish details of the amounts lying in its bank accounts, an additional affidavit was filed by it disclosing that is has a total of Rs. 6208.03 Crores funds in various banks.

During the course of hearing today, Senior Advocate Parag Tripathi appearing for DMRC, informed the Court about a letter written by DAMEPL to DMRC asking if it will take over the debt payable by DAMEPL. He submitted that this is contrary to the stand earlier taken by the company before the Court, rejecting a similar offer made by the Centre.

On this, the Court was of the view that the DAMEPL was taking a different stand in the court while taking a different side outside the Court wherein it was writing letters to DMRC to settle the dispute.

Responding to this, Advocate Prateek Seksaria representing DAMEPL submitted that it was only exercising its legal right in the court of law by seeking execution of the decree passed in its favour.

The matter will now be heard on March 29.

The Judgment Debtor, DMRC, had preferred a challenge under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 to the Award which was dismissed by a Single Judge of the High Court vide judgment dated March 6, 2018.

Thereafter, the said judgment was challenged before a division bench under Section 37 of the Act which was partly allowed and the Award was set aside vide judgement dated January 15, 2019.

DAMEPL, the Decree Holder, had then preferred a Special Leave Petition before the Supreme Court of India against the judgement of 2019 which was allowed in it's favour vide judgement dated September 9, 2021.

Accordingly, since the Award of 2017 could be executed as a decree in terms of Section 36 of the Act, the present petition was being filed by DAMEPL for execution of the Award passed by the the Arbitral Tribunal for the reason of now being enforceable as a decree.

Case Title: Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Limited v. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd.