The Delhi High Court on Friday directed the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to deposit all payable funds to Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Limited (DAMEPL), as per an arbitral award.

The bench of Justice Yashwant Varma directed the two governments to tend to DMRC's request for an extension of the sovereign guarantee subordinate debt, enabling it to liquidate its liabilities under the award.

The Court further said,

"If permission be accorded to the DMRC, it shall proceed to deposit the entire amount payable under the award along with interest within one month. If the Union Ministry or GNTCD declines the request, the Union shall at the end of two weeks, revert and repatriate all moneys received by it from DMRC post 10 March 2022."

Earlier, DMRC was directed to transfer the total amount payable to DAMEPL, along with interest. 

The Court added that if DMRC failed to pay the said amount, the entire amount standing to the credit of DMRC as of today shall stand attached.

"In case DMRC fails to clear all outstanding amounts despite the directions above, the Court reserves the right to frame further appropriate directions against the Union Ministry and GNTCD consequent to the corporate veil having been duly lifted."

In the said matter, DAMEPL, filed an execution petition seeking payment of the money owed by the DMRC as part of an arbitral award. DAMEPL, in its Petition, claimed that the total arbitral award amount along with interest in its favour stands at over ₹8,000 crores, of which over ₹6,300 crores is yet to be paid.

The Central and Delhi governments each hold 50% shares in the DMRC. However, both of them refused to pay the money.

The award under consideration arose out of an agreement signed between the DMRC and DAMEPL in 2008 to develop and operate the orange line of the Delhi Metro that connects Indira Gandhi International Airport's Terminal-3 to Dwarka Sector-21.

Last year, Delhi High Court directed DMRC to pay the entire balance amount to the DAMEPL along with interest in two equal instalments, by May 31. This order was upheld by the Supreme Court on May 5.