Bennett Coleman Withdraws Delhi HC Plea Against Lord's Mark Share Listing Following Settlement

Bennett Coleman and Co. Ltd. (BCCL), publisher of The Times of India, has withdrawn its petition before the Delhi High Court challenging the proposed listing and commencement of trading of shares of Lord's Mark Industries Ltd. The withdrawal came after Lord's Mark acknowledged BCCL's entitlement to 10,28,483 equity shares and agreed to place its claim before the Monitoring Committee supervising implementation of the resolution plan through which Kratos Energy and Infrastructure Ltd. was merged...

Consent Under Section 29A(3) Can Be Inferred From Conduct Of Parties: Himachal Pradesh High Court

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has held that Section 29A(3) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 does not require parties to give written consent for extending the time limit to make an arbitral award. Consent may be inferred from the conduct of the parties. A Bench of Justice Virender Singh allowed the appeals filed by landowners Meenakshi and Chaman Lal, set aside the District Judge's order annulling the arbitral award, and remanded the matter for consideration of the Section 34...

Draft Agreements, WhatsApp Chats Alone Cannot Create Binding Arbitration Agreement: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that draft agreements, WhatsApp exchanges and prolonged commercial negotiations cannot, by themselves, create a binding arbitration agreement unless the parties have clearly and finally agreed on all essential terms of their arrangement. A Bench of Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar dismissed a petition filed by Midpoint Commodeal Private Limited seeking protection of ₹15.30 crore allegedly invested in the "Sky Palazzos" real estate project in Gurugram. “Mere...

Karnataka High Court Refers To Larger Bench Whether Residential JDAs Fall Under Commercial Courts Act

The Karnataka High Court has referred to a larger bench the question of whether Joint Development Agreements (JDAs) for residential projects can be treated as "construction and infrastructure contracts" under the Commercial Courts Act. The referral came after the court held that a dispute arising from a Bengaluru residential apartment project was not a commercial dispute and could not be entertained by a Commercial Court. Justice Tara Vitasta Ganju held that the dispute arising from a Joint...

Disputes Relating To Payment For Work Done Not Covered Under “Excepted Matters” Arbitrable: MP High Court

The Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on 4 May appointed an arbitrator in a dispute between Western Railway and a service provider after rejecting the Railway's contention that the dispute was non-arbitrable, holding that claims for payment of dues for work already executed fall outside the “excepted matters” under the contract. Justice Pavan Kumar Dwivedi allowed the petition under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, observing: “In view of the above analysis...

Gujarat High Court Temporarily Halts Arbitration Over Vapi Lakes Lease Agreements

The Gujarat High Court on Monday directed that no further proceedings be conducted in arbitration proceedings between Vapi Municipal Corporation and Shashijit Infra Projects Limited arising from lease agreements relating to Lakhamdev Lake, Dungra Lake, and Chala Lake in Vapi. The direction will remain in force until the next hearing before the Court on June 18. Justice L.S. Pirzada passed the order while issuing notice in petitions filed by the Municipal Corporation challenging the continuation...

Mere Status As Ultimate Beneficiary Does Not Warrant Impleadment Of Non-Signatory In Arbitration: Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court has reiterated that arbitration is founded on consent and party autonomy, holding that an entity cannot be impleaded in arbitral proceedings merely because it is the ultimate beneficiary of a project. The Court set aside orders that had added IIM Jammu as a party to arbitration-related proceedings arising from disputes between Ramacivil India Construction Pvt. Ltd. and the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) over construction of the permanent campus of IIM Jammu at Jagti,...

Limitation To Challenge Arbitral Award Begins Only After Tribunal Disposes Of Post-Award Pleas: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday held that when parties invoke post-award proceedings before an arbitral tribunal seeking correction, interpretation, or an additional award, the limitation period for challenging the arbitral award begins only after those proceedings are disposed of. The court observed that parties cannot be compelled to challenge an award while such proceedings remain pending before the tribunal. A bench of Justices Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Alok Aradhe allowed an appeal...

Arbitration Act 2015 Amendment To Section 12(5) Cannot Be Applied Retrospectively: Punjab & Haryana High Court

On 29 May, the Punjab and Haryana High Court held that executing courts cannot retrospectively apply the post-2015 neutrality regime under Section 12(5) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, to refuse enforcement of arbitral awards rendered under the law prevailing at the time of the arbitrator's appointment. A Bench of Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri allowed the revision petitions, set aside seven executing court orders, and directed continuation of execution proceedings. It observed: ...

Disputes On Corporate Restructuring Must Be Decided by NCLT, Not Arbitrator: Kerala High Court

On 1 June 2026, the Kerala High Court held that disputes involving corporate restructuring and division of company assets fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and are non-arbitrable. A Single Judge Bench of Justice Easwaran S allowed the petition challenging an arbitral ruling that had rejected a jurisdictional objection under Section 16 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. He observed: “Albeit, this Courts finds that the dispute before...

No Patent Illegality In Award Granting Security Forfeiture And Differential Cost Recovery: Telangana HC

The Telangana High Court on 4 May held that where a contract expressly provides for forfeiture of security and recovery of differential costs, the aggrieved party may invoke both remedies upon breach. A Division Bench of Justices Moushumi Bhattacharya and Gadi Praveen Kumar dismissed the appeal filed by Ashok Rakesh Kumar and upheld an arbitral award in favour of the A.P. Nutrition Council (APNC), finding no patent illegality in the Tribunal granting both forms of relief. The judges...

Madhya Pradesh High Court Sets Aside ₹4.56 Crore MSME Award, Says Conciliation Cannot Be an 'Eyewash'

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that conciliation under the MSMED Act cannot be reduced to an “eyewash”, while setting aside an award passed by the Madhya Pradesh Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council against Aurionpro Solutions Ltd. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf held that the Council could not proceed to arbitration without first conducting and terminating conciliation proceedings in the manner prescribed by law. Observing that...