Delhi High Court Upholds Arbitral Award Directing Flexing It To Convert CCDs Into Equity

The Delhi High Court recently upheld an arbitral award directing Flexing It Services Private Limited to convert investor Colvyn James Harris's compulsorily convertible debentures into equity equivalent to 2% of the company's shareholding as on January 31, 2017. It also upheld the arbitral finding that repeated acknowledgments of liability in correspondence extended the limitation period. Declining to set aside the award in a challenge under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act,...

Bombay High Court Sets Aside Arbitral Award Against MSRDC In Toll Collection Dispute

The Bombay High Court has recently set aside an arbitral award in a dispute between Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation Ltd. (MSRDC) and Jai Laxmi Constructions Engineers and Contractors, holding that no arbitration agreement existed governing disputes under the Toll Collection Agreement and that an arbitration clause contained in a separate lender-related agreement could not be invoked for such disputes. A bench of Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan observed, “Therefore, the main test of...

Arbitral Award Not Decree At Challenge Stage, No Need For Separate Plea On Claims and Counterclaims: Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court has recently held that parties can challenge arbitral awards covering both claims and counterclaims through a composite petition under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, rejecting an objection that separate petitions were required as they amounted to distinct “decrees”. Emphasising that Section 36(1), which states that an arbitral award “shall be enforced as if it were a decree of the court,” is confined to the stage of enforcement, the Court observed: "In...

'Can' In Arbitration Clause Implies Choice, No Mandatory Arbitration Without Clear Agreement: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Friday held that an arbitration clause using the word “can” does not make arbitration mandatory, ruling that parties cannot be compelled to arbitrate unless there is a clear and binding agreement to that effect under Section 7 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.A Division Bench of Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh held that the clause in question only indicates a possibility of arbitration and not a binding obligation. “The clause...

Arbitrator Must Follow Fair, Evidence-Based Process Even In Ex-Parte Proceedings: Bombay High Court

On 15 April, the Bombay High Court held that even in ex-parte proceedings, an arbitrator must ensure a fair, evidence-based and unbiased process in terms of Section 25 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, and cannot treat claims as established merely because the other side remains absent. A Division Bench of Justices Arun R. Pedneker and Vaishali Patil Jadhav dismissed the appeal filed by Shinde & Sons and upheld the order of the District Judge at Beed setting aside the...

Supreme Court Dismisses Paharpur Plea Against Sinnar Thermal Power, Bars Arbitral Award Execution Post CIRP

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the special leave petition filed by Paharpur Cooling Towers Ltd. against Sinnar Thermal Power Ltd., effectively affirming the Delhi High Court's order dated February 11, which held that once a resolution plan is approved under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), claims cannot be pursued through parallel arbitral award execution proceedings.A Bench of Justices Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Alok Aradhe, after hearing the parties, dismissed the...

Gauhati High Court Appoints Arbitrator, Allows Arbitration Without Notice As Intent To Arbitrate Was Clear

The Gauhati High Court has appointed its former judge Justice Achintya Malla Bujor Barua as sole arbitrator in a dispute between Ekta Shakti Foundation and the State of Assam, holding that, in the peculiar facts of the case, an arbitration plea can be entertained even without a formal notice where a valid arbitration agreement is undisputed. A Bench of Justice Soumitra Saikia said, "it appears that the dispute between the parties have not been resolved and on the other hand there is a method...

Seat Alone Determines Jurisdiction, Not Where Arbitration Is Conducted Or Award Is Pronounced: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of India has set aside an order of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court which had declined to hear a challenge to an arbitral award on the ground that it was delivered in New Delhi, holding that jurisdiction lies with courts at the seat of arbitration and cannot shift based on where proceedings are conducted or the award is rendered. A Bench of Justices Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Alok Aradhe said, “The mere fact that arbitral proceedings are conducted or the award...

Calcutta High Court Upholds ₹14.49 Crore Arbitral Award To Sourav Ganguly Against Former Talent Manager

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday dismissed an appeal by Percept Talent Management Ltd., upholding a Rs. 14.49 crore arbitral award in favour of former Indian cricketer Sourav Ganguly and finding that the company had lost its right to terminate a 2003 Player Representation Agreement by waiting too long and continuing to act as his agent. The judgment was delivered on April 16, 2026 by a Division Bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Md. Shabbar Rashidi. The court also upheld the...

Even Consent Cannot Cure Lack of Jurisdiction In HC Appointment Of Arbitrator In ICA: MP High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that an arbitrator appointed by a High Court in an international commercial arbitration has no authority in law to decide the dispute, and any award passed in such proceedings is void. A bench of Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Pradeep Mittal said, “The conjoint reading of Section 11(6) and Section 11(12)(a), ACA makes it abundantly clear that the power to appoint an arbitrator in an ICA lies exclusively with the Supreme Court. The High Court has no...

Appeal Not Maintainable Against Arbitral Tribunal's Impleadment Order: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on 8 April, held that an order allowing impleadment of parties cannot be challenged in appeal under Section 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 merely because the Arbitral Tribunal passed it under Section 17, which empowers the Tribunal to issue interim and procedural orders during arbitration to manage the proceedings and grant temporary reliefs. A Bench of Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan clarified that Section 37 contains an exhaustive list of appealable...

Mere Allegation Of Fraud Not A Bar To Arbitration: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court on 8 April held that mere allegations of fraud or prior monetary transactions do not oust arbitration where the dispute arises from agreements containing arbitration clauses. A Bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M. Poonacha held that Courts must refer parties to arbitration under Section 8 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act unless a party shows that no prima facie arbitration agreement exists. It further noted the interplay with the...