ARBITRATION
Arbitration Cases Weekly Round-Up: 19th January-25th January 2026
Nominal Index1. Prakash Atlanta (JV) vs National Highways Authority of India, 2026 LLBiz SC 172. Jan De Nul Dredging India Pvt. Ltd. v. Tuticorin Port Trust, 2026 LLBiz SC 153. E-City Real Estates Pvt Ltd & Anr. vs IMAX Corporation & Ors., 2026 LLBiz SC 224. Steel Authority Of India Ltd. v. M/S R Haranadha Reddy, 2026 LLBiz HC (MP) 95. Maverick Developer And Colonizers Pvt. Ltd. v. Project Officer, 2026 LLBiz HC (MP) 86. Ashutosh Infra Pvt. Ltd. v. Pebble Downtown India Pvt. Ltd....
Status Quo Ante Means Restoration, Can't Be Ordered Lightly: Andhra Pradesh High Court
The Andhra Pradesh High Court has recently set aside an ad interim order passed during arbitration proceedings that directed restoration of possession of leased premises, holding that such relief amounts to a mandatory injunction and cannot be granted lightly. A Division Bench of Justice Ravi Nath Tilhari and Justice Maheswara Rao Kuncheam said courts must record clear and justifiable reasons before directing restoration of an earlier state of affairs. "Such orders of „status quo ante‟ are...
Interim Relief Can't Undo Completed Sale Or Replace Enforcement In Arbitration: Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court has dismissed a plea seeking to stop the sale of a vessel and secure an arbitral award, holding that once a sale is completed, the court cannot restrain the transaction or use interim relief to indirectly enforce an award. Justice Sandeep V. Marne said interim protection under the arbitration law is meant to prevent imminent dissipation of assets. It cannot be used to undo a concluded transaction or as a substitute for enforcement proceedings. “The sale of the Ship has...
Arbitral Tribunal Is A 'Creature of Contract': Delhi High Court Upholds ₹25 Lakh Award To Carlsberg
The Delhi High Court has upheld an arbitral award directing Pali Hills Breweries Pvt. Ltd. to pay Rs 25 lakh to Carlsberg India Private Limited under a brewing contract, while partly allowing the company's challenge by setting aside the arbitrator's rejection of its storage-rent claim. The court held that the amount was a genuine estimate of loss agreed to by the parties. Justice Jasmeet Singh said the High Court could not step in to re-decide the dispute or re-examine the evidence. He said...
Appellate Courts Cannot Disturb Arbitral Awards Merely To Permit A Different View, Supreme Court Reiterates
The Supreme Court, recently, set aside a Madras High Court order that had deleted compensation awarded to a dredging contractor and reiterated that appellate courts cannot interfere with arbitral awards merely because they prefer a different interpretation of the contract. A Bench of Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Justice Pankaj Mithal held that courts hearing appeals in arbitration matters have a narrow and limited role. Once an arbitral award has been examined and found free from...
MP High Court Sets Aside District Court Order Rejecting SAIL's Arbitration Challenge In Two Paragraphs
The Madhya Pradesh High Court at Jabalpur has set aside a district court order that rejected SAIL's objections to a Rs 1.54-crore arbitration award, with its reasoning confined to just two paragraphs. The High Court said such a dismissal, without dealing with the objections raised, cannot be sustained. Justice Vivek Jain, while ordering a fresh decision through a reasoned order observed, “Such a non-speaking order passed in course of proceedings under Section 34 cannot be upheld by this...
Bombay High Court Cautions Against Injunctions On Third Parties In Arbitration Cases
The Bombay High Court has dismissed a plea seeking interim relief pending arbitration by Messe Frankfurt Trade Fairs India Pvt. Ltd, he Indian arm of German exhibition organiser Messe Frankfurt, seeking interim relief to stop two trade exhibitions in Mumbai, reiterating that courts must be cautious while granting orders directly against third parties under the arbitration law.Justice Sandeep V Marne said that while there is no absolute bar on granting interim relief against non-signatories, such...
Delhi High Court Upholds Modified Arbitral Award In Prasar Bharati Cricket Broadcast Dispute With Overseas Marketer
The Delhi High Court has dismissed cross-appeals by Prasar Bharati and Stracon India Ltd, an overseas sports marketing company, upholding a single judge's ruling that only seven days of international cricket were missing under their BCCI broadcast marketing contract, and not seventeen as awarded by the arbitrator. A Division Bench of Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Madhu Jain agreed with the Single Judge that the arbitrator had wrongly excluded a 10-day India–Australia–New Zealand Triangular...
Delhi High Court Orders Perjury Complaint Against Walmark Officials In Fortis Arbitration Case
The Delhi High Court has directed its Registrar General to lodge a criminal complaint for perjury against two officials of Walmark Holdings Limited for making false statements and swearing affidavits before the court in an arbitration-related dispute with Fortis Healthcare Limited. The court held that this was a fit case to invoke its powers under the Criminal Procedure Code for making false statements and swearing affidavits. “I am of the prima facie view that a fit case has been made out on...
Supreme Court Orders Status Quo, Asset Disclosure In IMAX–E-City Arbitration Dispute
The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the E-City group to maintain status quo over all its assets and disclose details of its movable and immovable properties while taking up a fresh challenge to the Bombay High Court's decision that revived enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in favour of IMAX Corporation. A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan issued notice on a special leave petition filed by E-City Real Estates Pvt. Ltd. and another group entity, challenging the Bombay High...
Municipal 'Self-Government' Doesn't Take Works Contract Disputes Outside State Arbitration Tribunal: MP High Court
The Madhya Pradesh High Court at Jabalpur has held that disputes arising out of works contracts with municipal corporations covered by the MP Madhyastham Adhikaran Adhiniyam, 1983 cannot be taken to arbitration under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, and must instead be decided by the state's statutory arbitration tribunal. Justice Vivek Jain held that although municipalities are described in the Constitution as institutions of local self-government, this does not place them beyond...
Arbitral Tribunal Followed 'Unusual Process, Unknown to Law': Bombay High Court Sets Aside Award Against HPCL
The Bombay High Court has set aside a Rs 19.82 crore arbitral award against state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd., holding that the arbitral tribunal followed an “unusual process, unknown to law” and wrongly prevented the company from raising a defence that struck at the validity of the contract itself. Justice Sandeep V Marne said the arbitrator shut out HPCL from raising objections based on suppression and fraud after those facts came to light. This, the court said, was against the...