ARBITRATION
Karnataka High Court Upholds Arbitral Award Cancelling JDA Over Mutual Breach By Developer And Landowners
The Karnataka High Court has upheld an arbitral award cancelling a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) between Fortuna Constructions (India) Pvt. Ltd. and a group of landowners for a residential apartment project in Bengaluru. It held that the arbitral tribunal was justified in refusing specific performance after finding that both sides had failed to fulfil their contractual obligations. A bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M. Poonacha observed that the tribunal had not decided...
Supreme Court Refuses To Interfere With Ruling Holding Paytm-Nightstay GST ITC Dispute Arbitrable
The Supreme Court has refused to interfere with a District Judge's ruling holding that a dispute over One97 Communications Ltd's (Paytm) claim seeking refund of ₹99 lakh from Nightstay Travels Pvt Ltd and others under an Assignment Deed is arbitrable. It dismissed a Special Leave Petition filed by Nightstay App founder and former Nightstay Travels Pvt Ltd director Nasr Ullah Khan challenging the March 13, 2026 judgment of the District Judge (Commercial), Patiala House Courts, New Delhi. The...
Madras High Court Sets Aside Part Of Arbitral Award Against Tuticorin Port Trust Over Water Charges
The Madras High Court has partly set aside an arbitral award that held Tuticorin Port Trust (now V.O. Chidambaranar Port Trust) liable to pay water charges under the "Other Beneficiaries" category from December 1, 2002. The dispute arose between the Port Trust and the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD Board).A division bench of Justice P. Velmurugan and Justice K. Govindarajan Thilakavadi held that the award suffered from patent illegality. It found that the arbitrator failed to...
Fresh Employment Agreement Doesn't Automatically End Arbitration Clause In Earlier Contract: Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court has recently held that execution of a fresh employment agreement does not, by itself, extinguish an arbitration agreement contained in an earlier contract. It observed that whether the earlier contract stood completely substituted depends on the parties' intention, which must be gathered from the overall transaction rather than from the later agreement alone.Justice Amit Borkar delivered the ruling while partly allowing a petition filed by Sarla Advantech Private Limited...
Arbitrator Must Consider 3-Yr Deeds To Fix Land Value Under 2013 Land Acquisition Act: Uttarakhand High Court
The Uttarakhand High Court on 19 June held that an arbitral tribunal cannot determine the market value of acquired land under Section 26(1)(b) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, unless it follows the statutory methodology of considering registered sale deeds executed during the three years immediately preceding the proposed acquisition and identifies the transactions relied upon. Justice Ravindra Maithani upheld the...
MSCS Act Arbitral Awards Executable Under Act After 2023 Amendment, Not Arbitration Law: Madras High Court
The Madras High Court has upheld execution proceedings initiated by a Sales Officer appointed by the Central Registrar to enforce an arbitral award passed under the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002, holding that where the Act itself provides the procedure for execution, the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, does not govern the process.Justice P.B. Balaji dismissed a civil revision petition filed by T.K. Kares, the judgment-debtor, who had challenged the execution proceedings...
Delhi High Court Refuses Stay On Encashment Of Bank Guarantees In Jodhpur Railway Station Redevelopment Dispute
The Delhi High Court has refused an interim plea under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act seeking to restrain North Western Railway from invoking performance bank guarantees worth about ₹17.24 crore furnished under a ₹474.52 crore EPC contract for the redevelopment of Jodhpur Railway Station. The court held that the contractor had failed to establish the limited grounds on which unconditional bank guarantees can be restrained.Justice Subramonium Prasad held that the contractor had neither...
No Fresh Notice Needed After Award Is Set Aside If Arbitration Was Already Invoked: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court on 16 July held that a party need not issue a fresh notice under Section 21 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (which marks commencement of arbitral proceedings) before seeking appointment of a new arbitrator after an arbitral award is set aside, if arbitration had already commenced through a valid notice. A Single-Judge Bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad rejected the objection raised by Sumant Aggarwal and others and appointed Mr. Kapil Sankhla as the sole...
LiveLawBiz Arbitration Cases Weekly Digest: July 13 - July 18, 2026
Nominal IndexManash Kamal Bezboruah v. Bokahola Tea Company Private Limited & Ors., 2026 LLBiz SC 239A.K. Ghosh & Company and Others v. Biman Bose and Others, 2026 LLBiz SC 237Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited v. M/s Rukma Decor and Construction Company, 2026 LLBiz HC (DEL) 714Turner Morrison Ltd. v. Rani Parvati Devi & Anr., 2026 LLBiz HC (DEL) 713Indian Oil Corporation Limited v. Toyo Engineering Corporation & Anr., 2026 LLBiz HC (DEL) 709Supreme Advertising Private Limited v....
Finance Ministry's High-Value Arbitration Policy Conflicts With India's Declared Policy: Justice Ujjal Bhuyan
Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan on Saturday criticized the Finance Ministry's policy discouraging arbitration in high-value government contracts, saying its guidelines are "clearly in conflict with India's declared policy and international commitments."Justice Bhuyan made the remarks while delivering his keynote address at an event titled "Arbitration in India: Reform, Relevance & the Road Ahead" organised by the Law Forum.Delhi High Court judge Justice C. Hari Shankar and former...
Chhattisgarh High Court Restores ABB In Arbitration Appeals After Hitachi Challenges Substitution Order
The Chhattisgarh High Court has restored multinational engineering company ABB Ltd. as a party to two pending arbitration appeals after Hitachi Energy India Ltd. challenged an earlier order substituting it in ABB's place. The court held that ABB could not be discharged from the proceedings merely on its own assertion that liability in the pending appeals had transferred to Hitachi under a National Company Law Tribunal-approved Scheme of Arrangement.Justice Naresh Kumar Chandravanshi held that...
Arbitrator Can Pronounce Award Once Matter Is Reserved Despite Counsel's Withdrawal: Madras High Court
The Madras High Court has held that a sole arbitrator can proceed to pronounce an arbitral award even if the respondents' counsel does not produce documents he had undertaken to file and later withdraws his vakalat, provided the matter has already been reserved for passing of the award. The court held that no further orders were required in the application and closed it. Justice K. Kumaresh Babu observed, "This Court is of the view that, when the matter had been reserved for passing of the...