The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted a one-week window for a potential settlement between Reliance Infrastructure's subsidiary, Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Limited (DAMEPL), and Axis Bank on one side, and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on the other, over the refund of nearly ₹2,500 crore.

If no resolution is reached, the Court warned, legal consequences would follow.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Axis Bank, informed a bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and N. Kotiswar Singh that discussions are ongoing between the parties. He suggested that Attorney General R. Venkataramani, though not in his official capacity, could mediate the dispute to facilitate a faster resolution.

The bench directed Venkataramani to keep details of key decision-makers, including managing directors and senior officials from the private firm and the bank, ready for further proceedings.

“We will wait for one week. If the parties settle, well and good; otherwise, the law will take its own course,” the bench remarked, listing the matter for the next hearing on May 14.

The Court had earlier, on March 3, emphasized that its previous ruling in the DMRC-DAMEPL dispute must be implemented fully, cautioning that it may be compelled to take coercive action against officials of DAMEPL and Axis Bank for non-compliance.

Chiding the parties, the bench asked, “Why play hide and seek? When there is a judgment, it has to be followed in letter and spirit.” Axis Bank, in its defense, stated that it had no role in the six-year-long dispute and only operated the escrow account involved. However, the Court made it clear it was not concerned with the bank’s internal claims and counterclaims.

Venkataramani, appearing for DMRC, argued that all prior court orders were issued against Axis Bank, making it implausible for the bank to claim ignorance of the ongoing proceedings.

In December last year, the Court issued contempt notices to directors of DAMEPL and Axis Bank for failing to refund the ₹2,500 crore to DMRC in accordance with its April 2024 verdict.

The root of the matter lies in a 2017 arbitral award that directed DMRC to pay ₹8,000 crore to DAMEPL after the latter terminated its contract to operate Delhi’s Airport Express Metro line in 2012, citing structural defects. Though DMRC challenged the award, the Supreme Court upheld it in September and November 2021.

However, in a rare move, the apex court reversed its own decisions on April 10, 2024, in a curative petition filed by DMRC. It held that the earlier rulings had caused a "grave miscarriage of justice" and restored a patently illegal award, wrongly burdening a public utility. The Court ordered DAMEPL to return the ₹2,500 crore it had received, which was parked in an escrow account managed by Axis Bank.

The April 2024 judgment held that the Delhi High Court’s earlier decision to set aside the arbitral award was valid and well-reasoned, and that the Supreme Court’s own interference in 2021 was unwarranted.

The arbitral tribunal had originally awarded DAMEPL ₹2,782 crore plus interest, inflating the total to ₹8,009 crore by February 2022.

The case has seen multiple legal twists, including the Supreme Court’s initial endorsement of the arbitral award and a subsequent rare reversal via curative petition — a step the Court rarely takes, especially in commercial disputes.