A bench led by Justice T S Thakur directed the counsel to inform the court of the “exact status”.

The counsel was unaware whether a ministerial group was even formed to look into the metro project.

“Tell us exactly if a GoM is looking into the matter or not. If there is no group, then we will get to the grips of the matter, otherwise we will wait for its decision,” the court observed, giving the counsel time till Thursday.

The court was hearing a PIL filed by residents of south Delhi colonies against the construction of the 4.5-km elevated stretch from Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium to Kalkaji.

According to residents' counsel, their appeal got a fillip when Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit recently wrote a letter to the GoM in support of an underground metro track instead of an elevated corridor past “congested colonies” like Lajpat Nagar, Kailash Colony and Greater Kailash, among others.

Residents quote noise pollution and violation of silent zones by metros whizzing past as some of the reasons to oppose construction of the elevated track in the region.

“Why is the Delhi Metro Railway Corporation not aware of the GoM. It is a public project and not a private one. When there is representation and the matter has been referred to a group, you (DMRC) should have information about it,” the bench said.