ARBITRATION
Arbitrator Cannot Disregard Agreement To Treat WhatsApp Exchanges As Concluded Contract: Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court has held that an arbitrator cannot disregard the terms of the contract under which a dispute was referred to arbitration and treat WhatsApp exchanges as a separate concluded agreement when that was never the pleaded case.Justice Sharmila U. Deshmukh partly set aside an arbitral award in a family partnership dispute involving a husband, his wife, and other family members. The court quashed the direction to pay 9% annual interest on a ₹5 crore loan, which the arbitrator had...
Company Cannot Deny Employee Equity By Relying On Its Own Failure To Frame ESOP Scheme: Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court has recently held that a company cannot rely on its own failure to frame an Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) to deny an employee equity that was offered as part of his remuneration package.Justice N.J. Jamadar made the observation while dismissing Waterfield Advisors Private Limited's petition under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The company had challenged an arbitral award directing it to allot 31,878 equity shares to its former Director...
Mere Filing Of Company Petition In NCLT Does Not Bar Interim Relief Under Arbitration Act: Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court has recently held that the mere filing of a company petition before the National Company Law Tribunal does not bar a shareholder from seeking interim relief under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act. This applies where the relief sought concerns rights arising from a Shareholders' Agreement containing an arbitration clause.Justice Amit Borkar, while partly allowing a petition filed by a 33% shareholder and Director of Farma Hub Overseas Pvt Ltd, rejected the objection...
Two Arbitration Places Can Both Be Seats If Parties Do Not Choose One: Madhya Pradesh High Court
The Madhya Pradesh High Court on 16 July held that where an arbitration agreement specifies two alternative places as the “place of arbitration” and the parties do not subsequently choose one, both places can operate as juridical seats of arbitration. Justice Vivek Jain accordingly referred the dispute between Idieal Multi Media Network Private Limited and newspaper publisher CMYK Printech Limited to arbitration and appointed former Calcutta High Court Chief Justice Sujoy Paul as the sole...
Bombay High Court Allows $200,733 Claim Against Victore Ships, Says Voluntary Absence Won't Bar Enforcement
The Bombay High Court on 5 August held that a party cannot claim it was unable to present its case when it voluntarily chose not to participate in arbitration, and allowed enforcement of a USD 200,733.01 foreign arbitral award, along with interest and costs, in favour of Osterreichischer Llyod Seereederei against Victore Ships Private Limited. A Bench of Justice Arif S. Doctor held: “Section 48(1)(b) is intended to protect a party who, for reasons beyond its control, was genuinely unable to...
LiveLawBiz Arbitration Cases Weekly Digest: August 2 - August 8, 2026
NOMINAL INDEXRajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd. v. Parsa Kente Collieries Limited, 2026 LLBiz SC 262KKH Finvest Pvt. Ltd. and Another v. Ashiesh Shukla and Others, 2026 LLBiz SC 261Aroha Labs Pte. Ltd. v. Mr. Prem Dharmani & Ors., 2026 LLBiz HC(KAR) 133Rishabraj Estate Developers Pvt. Ltd. v. Heeramani Ratan Cooperative Housing Society Limited, 2026 LLBiz HC(BOM) 441M/s. S. E. Investments Ltd. (now known as Paisalo Digital Limited) v. Star Bazaar Private Limited & Ors., 2026 LLBiz...
Delhi High Court Sets Aside ₹6.35 Crore Award Over Unilateral Arbitrator Appointment By Defence Ministry
The Delhi High Court has set aside a ₹6.35 crore arbitral award in favour of Goodrich Foodtech Ltd. in a dispute with the Ministry of Defence over contracts for supplying malted milk food with cocoa.Justice Subramonium Prasad held that the unilateral appointment of the arbitrator by the Union through its Competent Financial Authority was invalid under Section 12(5) read with the Seventh Schedule of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The court found that the authority was part of the...
Supreme Court Replaces Justice Arun Mishra With Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul As Arbitrator In Adani-RVUNL Dispute
The Supreme Court has recently replaced Justice Arun Mishra with former judge Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul as sole arbitrator in a dispute between Adani-linked Parsa Kente Collieries Ltd. and Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd. To that extent, the court has modified the Rajasthan High Court's July 3, 2026 order appointing Justice Mishra as the sole arbitrator.The dispute arises from their agreement for mining and supply of coal from the Parsa East and Kanta Basan blocks.A bench of Chief...
General Body Approval Not A Formality In Housing Society Redevelopment: Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court has held that approval of a housing society's General Body cannot be treated as a mere formality in redevelopment, observing that members surrender possession of their existing homes and thereafter receive reconstructed flats.“Redevelopment permanently affects rights of all members because they surrender possession of their existing premises and thereafter receive reconstructed flats. Therefore, approval of the General Body cannot be treated as formality,” Justice Amit...
Arbitral Award May Bring 'Finality On Paper', But Mediation Can Bring 'True Accord': CJI Surya Kant
Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant on Friday said arbitration and mediation serve different purposes in dispute resolution, with arbitration providing a reasoned, binding award, while mediation can give parties greater ownership over the outcome and bring them to a “true accord”.“Finality on paper and finality in fact are not always the same inheritance,” CJI Kant said, noting that a binding arbitral award may be followed by challenges to its execution and therefore “does not bring...
Supreme Court Refers Non-Signatory Consultant Shareholder To Arbitration In Share Acquisition Dispute
The Supreme Court has held that a non-signatory consultant-shareholder whose performance under a separate Share Purchase Agreement is fundamental to completing a Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) can be treated as a "veritable party" to the settlement's arbitration agreement. Allowing an appeal filed by KKH Finvest Private Limited and Sensorise Digital Services Private Limited, a Division Bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva observed, "it is clear that the performance of his...
