No Letters Patent Appeal Lies Against Order to Deposit 75% To Challenge MSME Award: Madras High Court

Reiterating that the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 is a self-contained code, the Madras High Court has dismissed a Letters Patent appeal against a Single Judge's order directing a 75% pre-deposit in a challenge to an MSME arbitral award. A Division Bench of Justices C.V. Karthikeyan and K. Kumaresh Babu held, “The order of the learned Single Judge does not fall under the ambit of Order XLIII of the Code of Civil Procedure and therefore, this appeal filed under the Letters Patent would...

Independence And Impartiality Required Of All Arbitrators, Not Just Presiding One: Madhya Pradesh High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on 31 March held that every arbitrator in a tribunal, including party-appointed arbitrators, must remain independent and impartial under the Seventh Schedule and Section 12(5) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. Justice Vivek Jain appointed Justice K.K. Lahoti as the sole arbitrator to adjudicate the dispute between Hewlett Packard Enterprise India Private Limited (HP/petitioner) and Bhopal Smart City Development Corporation Limited (BSCC/respondent),...

Delhi High Court Temporarily Bars Aashirvad Cinemas From Creating Third-Party OTT Rights In 'Drishyam 3'

The Delhi High Court has temporarily restrained Aashirvad Cinemas from creating any third-party OTT rights in the upcoming Mohanlal-starrer Malayalam film tentatively titled “Drishyam 3”, granting interim protection to Amazon Seller Services Pvt. Ltd. in an arbitration dispute. Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar held that Amazon had made out a case for ad-interim relief and barred the producers, till the next hearing, from “creating or otherwise dealing with any third-party rights in respect...

S.29A | Time Limit Under Arbitration Act Not A Rigid Mechanism To Invalidate Proceedings: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has observed that the time limit for arbitrators to pass awards cannot be treated as a rigid ground to invalidate arbitral proceedings and dismissed a challenge to an arbitral award on the ground that the arbitrator's mandate had expired. “The statutory architecture of Section 29A of the A&C Act must therefore be understood not as a rigid mechanism intended to invalidate arbitral proceedings upon a mere lapse of time, but as a supervisory framework designed to ensure...

Filing Same Defective Petition Repeatedly To Save Limitation Is Abuse Of Process: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has refused to entertain a challenge to an arbitral award, holding that repeatedly re-filing the same defective petition without curing defects, in an attempt to stay within limitations, amounts to a “flagrant misuse and abuse of the process of Court”. A bench of Justice Mini Pushkarna found that Stalagmite Infracon Pvt. Ltd. had filed its Section 34 petition on the last permissible day but continued to re-file the same defective 701-page petition multiple times without...

Preservation Of Arbitration Subject Matter Was More Important: Bombay HC Condones 258-Day Delay In Arbitration Plea

The Bombay High Court has condoned a 258-day delay in filing a plea for appointment of an arbitrator, holding that efforts taken by a developer to prevent acquisition of a redevelopment project by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) constituted sufficient and exceptional cause. A bench of Justice Sandeep V. Marne allowed INFRA Poonam Developers LLP to initiate arbitration against Jasbir Singh and other partners, observing that the cause to seek arbitration arose only...

Writ Appeal Not Entertainable When Arbitration Offers Adequate Remedy: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on 6 April, declined to entertain a writ appeal arising from termination of a contractual agreement, holding that when efficacious alternative remedies exist under arbitration, the writ court ordinarily refrains from exercising its discretionary jurisdiction. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V.M observed: “…having regard to the fact that there are efficacious alternative remedies available where such issues can be more conveniently dealt...

PSCC Act Doesn't Bar Arbitration Where License To Enter Property for Development Is Incidental: Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court has recently held that a developer cannot avoid arbitration by claiming tenancy protection under the Small Causes Courts Act when its right to use the property is only incidental to a development agreement.A single-judge bench of Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan was hearing a petition under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act filed by Shri Mahavir Developers and its partners challenging an arbitral award in a dispute with Shri Mahavir Jaina Vidyalaya, a public...

Delhi HC Upholds ₹7.14 Crore Arbitral Award In Favour Of Corporate Infotech Against NTRO

The Delhi High Court on 1 April, held that Corporate Infotech Private Limited (CIPL) is entitled to the balance payment of Rs. 7,14,61,511 from the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) and upheld the arbitral award in its favour in a dispute over a secure intranet network project. A Bench of Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar observed that liquidated damages could not be imposed and final payments could not be withheld where delays were attributable to both parties and the system...

Delhi High Court Sets Aside Arbitral Award For Refusal To Examine Key Witnesses Who Left Employment

The Delhi High Court on 1 April held that refusing to examine key witnesses solely because they were no longer employees of the company undermines a fair arbitral hearing, particularly when those witnesses were directly involved in the transaction. Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar set aside an arbitral award in a dispute between Sujit Kumar Jaiswal and Dalmia Research International Pvt. Ltd., holding that by selectively accepting the company's version, the Tribunal deprived him of a fair...

Disputes Under Subsequent Agreement Without Arbitration Clause Not Arbitrable: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court on 2 April, held that an Arbitral Tribunal cannot decide disputes arising from a subsequent agreement that lacks an arbitration clause, nor can it rely on an earlier lapsed agreement whose arbitration clause has ceased to operate. A Bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M. Poonacha set aside an award that directed execution of a sale deed between M. Mallikarjuna and Smt. Rajeshwari Mallikarjuna (appellants) and S.P. Sridhara and S.P. Muralidhar...

Arbitration Clause In Purchase Orders Enough to Appoint Arbitrator: Punjab & Haryana High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on 19 March, held that an arbitration clause in purchase orders is sufficient under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, to allow appointment of an arbitrator. A Single Judge Bench of Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri allowed a petition by Aditya Birla Real Estate Limited and appointed Justice Ajay Tewari (Retd.) as the Sole Arbitrator in disputes arising out of 20 purchase orders issued by Orient Craft Limited for the supply of fabric. He...