ARBITRATION
Delhi High Court Upholds Arbitral Award, Relies On Registered Lease Deed Over Oral Claim Of Joint Venture
The Delhi High Court has recently upheld a partial arbitral award directing a hospital operator to hand over possession of leased premises. It held that an oral claim of a collaborative venture cannot override the clear terms of a registered lease deed when there is no written agreement to support it.Justice Om Prakash Shukla observed that arbitral tribunals are not bound by the Indian Evidence Act. However, they can draw guidance from its underlying principles. In this case, the parties had...
UNCITRAL's Next 60 Years Will Be About Inclusive, Tech-Responsive Commercial Law: AG R. Venkatramani
Attorney General R. Venkatramani on July 24 said that the next 60 years of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) would be about ensuring international commercial law remains inclusive, technologically responsive and truly global. He said this would be critical as international trade and commerce continue to evolve. Delivering the welcome address at the international conference commemorating UNCITRAL's 60th anniversary, Venkatramani said the Commission had spent the...
Arbitration Can Be Revived Even After Arbitrator's Mandate Ends: Jammu & Kashmir & Ladakh High Court
The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has reiterated that even after an arbitrator's mandate terminates for failure to make an award within the statutory period, a court can revive the arbitral proceedings by extending the time, and such an application is maintainable even after the mandate has expired.Justice Sanjay Dhar made the observation while extending by two months the time for a sole arbitrator to make an award in a contractual dispute arising out of a street-lighting project on...
Parties Cannot Invoke Arbitration Beyond Agreed Contractual Limits: Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court has held that where an arbitration clause expressly limits who may invoke arbitration and the disputes that may be referred, parties cannot seek appointment of an arbitrator beyond those agreed limits. Refusing to appoint an arbitrator in applications filed by individual members of a cooperative housing society, Justice Arun R. Pedneker observed, "In view of the specific arbitration clause and the limitations placed therein and the parties having agreed to refer only...
Email Delivery Of Scanned Signed Arbitral Award Starts Limitation For Challenge: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court on 7 July held that an arbitrator's email transmitting a scanned signed copy of an arbitral award amounts to valid delivery under Section 31(5) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 and starts the limitation period for challenging the award under Section 34. Justice Om Prakash Shukla dismissed a petition by the Chief Engineer, Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), challenging an arbitral award dated 19 August 2023 in favour of Enarch Consultants as...
Foreign Award Enforcement Can't Be Refused For Ignoring Contract Or Proof Burden Shift: Allahabad HC
The Allahabad High Court on 13 July held that courts cannot refuse to enforce a foreign arbitral award under Section 48(2)(b) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (which sets out the limited grounds for refusing enforcement of a foreign award) merely because they disagree with the arbitral tribunal's appreciation of evidence or findings or the burden of proof. A Bench of Justice Piyush Agrawal allowed the enforcement application filed by Fomento Commodities PTE. Ltd. and directed...
Allahabad High Court Upholds Setting Aside Of Arbitral Award For Lack Of Findings On Contentious Issues
The Allahabad High Court has upheld the setting aside of an arbitral award in an insurance dispute after finding that the arbitrator failed to record findings on key disputed issues, including the validity of the survey report and the basis for awarding the claimed amount, and instead "jumped to the conclusion" that the insured was entitled to the amount sought.A Division Bench of Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Kshitij Shailendra dismissed an appeal by Triveni Adhesive and Tapes against...
LiveLawBiz Arbitration Cases Weekly Digest: July 20 - July 25, 2026
Nominal Index NASR ULLAH KHAN v ONE97 COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED & ORS, 2026 LLBiz SC 245 South Delhi Municipal Corporation v M/s Delhi Gurgaon Super Connectivity Limited, 2026 LLBiz HC(DEL) 727 Cosmo Retail Solutions Private Limited v Sumant Agarwal & Ors, 2026 LLBiz HC(DEL) 716 Resilient Innovations Private Limited (BharatPe) v Unity Small Finance Bank Limited & Ors, 2026 LLBiz HC(DEL) 735 Spectrum Power Generation Limited v GAIL India Limited, 2026 LLBiz HC(DEL) 733 National...
Court-Recorded Compromise In Arbitration Dispute Can Be Executed: Kerala High Court
The Kerala High court has held that a compromise recorded while disposing of proceedings under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 is executable. It observed that a party which voluntarily enters into a settlement, secures its benefits and invites the court to pass an order in terms of the compromise cannot later contend that the order is unenforceable.Justice T.R. Ravi said, "After having arrived at a settlement and having invited the court to pass an order in terms of the...
Order Requiring Deposit Of Entire Arbitral Award For Stay Not Appealable: Rajasthan High Court
The Rajasthan High Court has held that an order directing a party to deposit the entire arbitral award amount as a condition for staying enforcement of the award is not appealable under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. Holding that Section 13 of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, does not create an independent right of appeal, the bench observed, "As an upshot, we hold that an order passed under Section 36(3), whether granting stay unconditionally, conditionally, or refusing it, is not...
Supreme Court Alone Can Decide Replacement Of Arbitrator It Appointed: Karnataka High Court
The Karnataka High Court has held that once the Supreme Court appoints an arbitrator under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, any issue arising later that affects the constitution of the arbitral tribunal, including the arbitrator's recusal, withdrawal or substitution, can be decided only by the Supreme Court.A single-judge bench of Justice Suraj Govindaraj observed, "The appointment of the Arbitrator was not by the institutional mechanism of SIAC or from any consensual...
Delhi High Court Bars Unity Small Finance Bank From Considering Share Capital Increase Without BharatPe's Consent
The Delhi High Court on Friday held that Unity Small Finance Bank could not place before its board a proposal to increase its authorised share capital and amend its Memorandum of Association without the prior written consent of BharatPe, which owns a 49% stake in the bank. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela granted interim relief to BharatPe (Resilient Innovations Private Limited), holding that the proposal fell within "Reserved Matters" under the parties' Shareholders' Agreement (SHA)."If the SHA...