ARBITRATION
Arbitration | Supreme Court Asks Law Commission To Examine Uniform Framework For Award Deposits In Appeals
The Supreme Court has asked the Law Commission of India to examine the need for a uniform system governing money deposited with courts and tribunals during appeals.The exercise will cover where such money should be kept, how it should earn interest, and how the deposit and interest should ultimately be adjusted between the parties.The direction came while the top court held that National Seeds Corporation Ltd. remained liable to pay 12% interest on an arbitral award amount despite having...
Himachal Pradesh High Court Excludes Automatic Stay Period From Limitation For Execution Of Arbitral Award
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has held that an execution petition filed in 2025 to enforce a 2012 arbitral award was within limitation. It held that the period during which the award was deemed to be automatically stayed under the law then prevailing had to be excluded while calculating limitation.Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua observed, “In the instant case, objections under Section 34 of the Act were preferred by the respondent-Judgment Debtor within the prescribed limitation period. Therefore,...
Karnataka High Court Sets Aside ₹13.08 Crore Award To L&T In Bengaluru Metro Contract Dispute
The Karnataka High Court has recently set aside parts (around ₹13.08 Crore) of an arbitral award arising from a ₹303.29 crore Bengaluru Metro construction contract between Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) and Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL).The court found shortcomings in the tribunal's treatment of claims relating to reduced parapet quantities, revised rates for 18 delayed pier locations and unpaid reinforcement quantities. It also set aside the tribunal's finding on...
Government Officials Not Personally Liable For State Department's Unpaid Arbitral Award: Chhattisgarh High Court
The Chhattisgarh High Court has recently held that government officers cannot be made personally liable for an unpaid arbitral award merely because they are responsible for processing or arranging payment on behalf of their department.Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal observed, “The liability created by the award cannot, in execution, be converted into a personal monetary liability of an officer merely because such officer happens to be responsible for processing or arranging payment on behalf of...
120-Day Written Statement Period Must Be Computed Under General Clauses Act: Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court on 7 September held that whether the 120-day period for filing a written statement in a commercial suit has expired must be determined by correctly computing the period under Section 9 of the General Clauses Act, 1897, and not by applying a strict or liberal construction of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015. Justice N. J. Jamadar allowed Jyoti Structures Ltd.'s writ petition against Africa Power Company CC and set aside the Commercial Court's 18 June 2026 order rejecting its...
Bombay High Court Extends Justice Lokur-Led Tribunal's Mandate By A Year In SAP-Cox & Kings Arbitration
The Bombay High Court on 10 September extended the mandate of an arbitral tribunal headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Madan Lokur by one year and allowed SAP India Private Limited's pending claim against Cox & Kings to proceed. A Bench of Justice Arif S. Doctor found that the delay in completing the arbitration was not attributable to any deliberate, wilful or negligent default by SAP or the tribunal. He observed:“The delay in completion of the arbitral...
Writ Jurisdiction Can Be Exercised Despite Arbitration Remedy In Exceptional Cases: Calcutta High Court
The Calcutta High Court has held that where a contract contains an arbitration clause, parties have an alternative remedy of invoking arbitration, particularly when the dispute involves questions of fact that cannot be adjudicated in writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution. Justice Ajay Kumar Gupta, relying on the judgment of Whirlpool Corporation v. Registrar of Trade Marks, Mumbai and others reiterated that writ jurisdiction may still be exercised in exceptional...
Pre-Named Arbitrator Can Constitute Tribunal Only If Mutual Consent Continues: Delhi High Court
On 16 September, the Delhi High Court held that naming an arbitrator in an arbitration agreement may reflect the parties' mutual and continuing consent to his appointment. However, where one party alone appoints the named arbitrator after a dispute arises, the appointment must satisfy the safeguards under Section 12(5) read with the Seventh Schedule to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. A Division Bench of Justices Anil Kshetrapal and Shail Jain dismissed Matsya Fincap Pvt. Ltd.'s...
Two-Year Delay In Pronouncing Arbitral Award Not Enough To Set It Aside: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has held that a two-year delay in pronouncing an arbitral award cannot, by itself, be a ground to set aside the award unless the delay is unexplained and is shown to have adversely affected the findings.A Division Bench of Justice C. Hari Shankar and Justice Vinod Kumar made the observation while setting aside a single judge's order.The order had set aside a ₹65.12 crore arbitral award in favour of Unison Hotels Private Limited against IFFCO Tokio General Insurance Company...
Forgery Allegation Alone No Ground To Reject Plea For Arbitrator Appointment: Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court has held that an allegation that an arbitration agreement was forged does not automatically require rejection of an application for appointment of an arbitrator where independent documents provide a prima facie basis for the agreement's existence. Justice Amit Borkar appointed Advocate Ranjeev Carvalho as sole arbitrator to decide the Patkar House redevelopment dispute between developer Kiran Narendra Patkar and Milan Narendra Patkar. All objections concerning the...
Delhi High Court Constitutes Tribunal For D P Jain-NHAI Dispute, Allows Change In SAROD Procedure
The Delhi High Court on 10 September constituted a three-member Arbitral Tribunal to adjudicate disputes between D P Jain Bangalore Chennai Expressways Private Limited and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) arising from the termination of a Concession Agreement for construction of a section of the Bangalore-Chennai Expressway. Justice Sachin Datta constituted the Tribunal after both parties jointly agreed to depart from the arbitration procedure prescribed under their agreement,...
'Vague Intuition' Of Arbitrator Bias Not Enough To Set Aside Award: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has recently dismissed a challenge to an arbitral award, holding that a belated suspicion of bias cannot by itself justify interference with an award.“According to this Court, a vague intuition of biasness at such a belated stage or a simple suspicion by an unhappy party of biasness is not enough to claim biasness, as any such allegation must rest on solid facts, clear evidence, or statutory conflicts,” Justice Om Prakash Shukla held.The court was hearing a petition filed by...