Anil Ambani-backed Reliance Infrastructure has filed an appeal with the Delhi High Court seeking to attach Delhi Metro Rail Corporation assets to recover the ₹7,045 crore awarded by an arbitration tribunal. The Delhi High Court is scheduled to hear the case on Monday.
"Pass an order of attachment and sale of both moveable and immovable properties, and/or attachment and recovery of the bank accounts and other assets of the Judgment Debtor (Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd.) to the extent of ₹7,045 .41 crores and the sale proceeds thereof may be paid to the Decree Holder (Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Limited- a subsidiary of Reliance Infra) towards satisfaction of the Decree," stated the plea filed by the Ambani-backed company.
The Supreme Court had earlier upheld an arbitration award favouring the Anil Ambani-backed infrastructure company in a case related to the Airport Metro Express Line project. In 2008, an agreement was entered into between DMRC and Reliance Infra's special purpose entity DAMEPL for design, installation, commissioning, operation and maintenance of Airport Metro Express Line. However, the deal fell through in 2012, when DAMEPL complained of faulty design and quality in the installation of viaduct bearings. The issue went into arbitration which ruled in favour of Reliance, but DMRC contested the award.
Reliance has now sought Delhi High Court's intervention in enforcing the arbitral award. "This Hon' ble Court may direct the Judgment Debtor to disclose on oath details/particulars of all its assets - moveable and immovable properties, details of the relevant bank accounts and other assets belonging to it," Reliance said in its petition.
"Pending the hearing and final disposal of the present petition, this Hon'ble Court may pass an order of attachment of both moveable and immovable properties and/or bank accounts and other assets of the Judgment Debtor to the total extent of ₹7,045 .41 crores," it added.
The Reliance group company said in its petition that it was facing a huge financial crisis, and there is extreme urgency for the grant of the award money. The company said that it "has earlier received numerous letters from the lenders for payment of overdue amounts at the earliest, and the loan of the Decree Holder with the lenders has been on the verge of being classified as Non Performing Assets by the senior lenders."