Allegations Of Fraud/Forgery Inter-Se The Parties Do Not Make The Dispute Non-Arbitrable: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has held that mere allegations of fraud inter-se the respondents would not make a dispute non-arbitrable. The bench of Justice Shekhar B. Saraf held that merely because the respondents inter-se dispute the validity of the agreement containing arbitration clause and also their signature on it, it does not make the dispute non-arbitrable. It further held that mere possibility or existence of criminal proceedings arising out of the same facts would not put the...

Mere Signing Of The Award At A Place Cannot Be The Determinative Factor For Ascertaining The Place Of Arbitration: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has ruled that mere signing of the arbitral award at a place cannot be the determinative factor for ascertaining the place of arbitration. It added that if there is no agreement between the parties regarding the place of arbitration and the arbitrator has not determined the place of arbitration, the overall circumstances of the case would have to be taken into consideration to reach a conclusion regarding the same. The bench of Justice Manish Pitale was dealing...

Arbitration Cases Weekly Round-Up: April 23 To April 29, 2023

Supreme Court: Arbitration Agreement In Unstamped Contract Which Is Exigible To Stamp Duty Not Enforceable: Supreme Court Holds By 3:2 Majority Case Title: M/s. N.N. Global Mercantile Pvt Ltd vs M/s. Indo Unique Flame Ltd & Ors A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, on Tuesday, answered the reference, which pertains to the issue - whether the arbitration clause in a contract, which is required to be registered and stamped, but is not registered and stamped, is valid and...

Order Of Arbitral Tribunal Terminating Proceedings For Non-Payment Of Tribunal Fees Cannot Be Recalled: Telangana High Court

The Telangana High Court held that once the tribunal has passed an order terminating the arbitral proceedings under Section 32(2)(c) r/w Section 38 of the A&C Act for non-payment of tribunal fees, the tribunal cannot recall the order and continue the arbitral proceedings. The bench of Justices P. Naveen Rao and Nagesh Bheempaka held that once the arbitral proceedings are terminated under Section 32(2)(c) of the Act, the tribunal becomes functus oficio and it cannot continue with...

Arbitration-Court To Apply Reasonable Third Person Test While Considering Arbitrators’ Requirement For Disclosure, If The Case Doesn’t Fall Under The Lists Under IBA Guidelines: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court, while dealing with a petition seeking enforcement of a foreign arbitral award, has observed that the “pro-enforcement bias” in the New York Convention has been specifically adopted in Section 48 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (A&C Act). The bench of Justice Manish Pitale was considering the guidelines issued by the International Bar Association (IBA) on ‘Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration’ (IBA Guidelines), while considering the...

Agreement Between The Parties “Birth-Giver”; Arbitrator Can’t Grant Pre-Award Interest When Agreement Provided For No Interest: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has reiterated that the agreement between the parties has primacy over the powers of the Arbitral Tribunal to grant pre-award interest under Section 31(7)(a) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (A&C Act). The bench of Justice Chandra Dhari Singh held that since the Agreement between the parties specifically provided that no interest shall be granted on the accrued amount under the contract, the same took away the power of the Arbitrator to deviate and...

Party Is Entitled To Challenge Appointment Of Arbitrator In Violation Of Arbitration Act, At Any Stage: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has ruled that a party is entitled to challenge the appointment of the Arbitrator at any stage, if there is any violation of the provisions of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (A&C Act). The court remarked that even if the award debtor had participated in the arbitral proceedings or, after having knowledge of the appointment of the sole Arbitrator, had failed to challenge the said appointment in terms of Section 13, the same would not deprive him of...

Delhi High Court Allows Daiichi Sankyo To Withdraw Rs. 20.5 Crores, Imposes A Cost Of 10 Lakh On IHFL For Abuse Of Process Of Court In 4000 Crore Foreign Arbitral Award Case

The Delhi High Court on Monday allowed Daiichi Sankyo to withdraw over Rs. 20.5 crores lying with the Registrar General of the High Court, which was transmitted pursuant to the Supreme Court’s 2022 order in the contempt proceedings initiated against the directors of Indiabulls Housing Finance Limited (IHFL) and Indiabulls Ventures Limited (IVL) for flouting the Supreme Court’s restraint orders in relation to the shareholding of Fortis Healthcare Holdings Private Limited (FHHPL) in Fortis...

Pendency Of Conciliation Proceedings Before Facilitation Council Under MSMED Act Doesn’t Debar The Court From Appointing Arbitrator Under S. 11 Of Arbitration Act: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has held that a prior reference to the Facilitation Council under Section 18(1) of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 (MSMED Act), which is still at the stage of conciliation, does not debar the Court from passing an order under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (A&C Act) for appointment of arbitrator on the basis of an independent arbitration clause between the parties. The court ruled that the bar...

Agreement Is Linked With Family Settlement Which Contains Arbitration Clause - Delhi High Court Allows S. 8 Application To Refer Parties to Arbitration

The Delhi High Court has ruled that once there is an arbitration agreement governing the parties, the matter must be referred for arbitration unless there is a “chalk and cheese” case of non-arbitrability. The bench of Justice Jyoti Singh was dealing with an application filed under Section 8 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (A&C Act) in a suit for infringement of Intellectual Property rights (IPR). The court concluded that there was a valid arbitration agreement...

Arbitration Cases Weekly Round-Up: April 16 To April 22, 2023

Supreme Court: Supreme Court Deprecates Practice Of Filing Applications In Disposed Of SLPs To Side-Step Arbitration Process Case Title: Narsi Creation Pvt Ltd and Anr. vs State of Uttar Pradesh and Ors. The Supreme Court has reiterated that the courts normally ought not interfere with arbitral proceedings, especially till the time an award is not passed. The top court has deprecated the practice of filing applications in disposed of Special Leave Petitions (SLPs) in order to...

Whether A Signed Copy Or Certified Copy Of The Award, Purpose Of S. 31(5) of A&C Act Is To Inform The Party: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has ruled that the purpose of Section 31(5) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (A&C Act), which provides for delivery of the signed copy of the arbitral award, is of imparting knowledge to the party regarding the contents of the award, and to make the party aware that the limitation to raise a challenge has started to run. The court held that the said knowledge/information is equally available to the party, when it receives the certified copy of the...