CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court on Friday admitted a petition by two government agencies against the closure notice served by Rapid Metro, making it clear that trains operations on the privately run Gurugram metro line will continue till September 9 (Monday) midnight.
September 9 is the date beyond which Rapid Metro has said it can’t continue operations. The high court will hear the case again on September 9 and its direction means train services will not stop during Rapid Metro’s operating hours that day. What happens after that will be determined by the outcome of the September 9 hearing. According to the closure notice, Rapid Metro would run its last train on September 8.
A division bench of justices R K Jain and Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi passed the order while hearing a petition filed by Haryana Mass Rapid Transport Corporation Limited (HMRTCL) and Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP).
The petition stated that HMRTCL and Rapid Metrorail Gurugram Limited (RMGL) had entered into an agreement, whereby the company was required to develop, operate and maintain the metro link, which runs from Sikanderpur to Sector 56 via a Cyber City loop.
Appearing for the petitioners, senior advocate Chetan Mittal told the high court that RMGL had invoked the termination clause by serving a notice on June 7 but in view of an order passed earlier by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), which is hearing an insolvency case, RMGL was required to take permission from Justice D K Jain (retd). Justice Jain is supervising the debt resolution process pertaining to Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Limited (IL&FS) and its group companies, which include RMGL.
The high court was also informed that a request was made to RMGL to extend the date but no response was received. The petitioners have sought directions to quash the termination notice dated June 7, arguing it is arbitrary.