ARBITRATION
Local Residents' Obstruction Not Force Majeure: Delhi High Court Upholds Termination Of IRWO Contract
The Delhi High Court has upheld an arbitral award in favour of the Indian Railway Welfare Organisation (IRWO), affirming the termination of a housing construction contract and forfeiture of the contractor's bank guarantee and security deposit. The Court held that obstruction by local residents and apprehension of hostility at the site did not fall within the force majeure clause and that the contractor's refusal to resume work amounted to abandonment of the project. The Bench of Justice...
Delhi HC Dismisses Wadia Appeals, Refuses Higher Consultancy Fees In Married Accommodation Project Dispute
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed appeals filed by Wadia Techno Engineering Services Limited challenging arbitral awards in disputes arising from consultancy agreements for defence housing projects, holding that the consultant was not entitled to higher fees or compensation for delays. The court upheld a single judge's order refusing to interfere with the arbitral awards while maintaining the limited setting aside of certain claims relating to the Vizag project. A Division Bench of...
Figures In Conciliator's Report Do Not Bind Arbitrator: Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court on 17 March dismissed a petition filed by ICICI Securities Ltd, holding that the amount indicated in a conciliator's report does not constitute an award and does not bind the Arbitral Tribunal in determining the final claim. Justice Sandeep V. Marne upheld an arbitral award of Rs. 23.30 lakh passed in favour of Ridhi Siddhi Investment in a stock trading dispute arising out of margin trading transactions. The Court observed: “Thus, the amount indicated in the report of the...
Bombay High Court Dismisses Multi-Credit Society's Appeal, Upholds Setting Aside Of Arbitral Award Over Borrowers' Membership
The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court on 17 March dismissed an arbitration appeal filed by Rajlaxmi Multistate Credit Co-operative Society Ltd, declining to interfere with an order setting aside an arbitral award passed in its favour in a loan recovery dispute. A Single-Judge Bench of Justice Pravin S. Patil held that the arbitral award suffered from patent illegality as the arbitrator had wrongly assumed jurisdiction without establishing that the borrowers were members of the...
Rejection Of Impleadment Is A Jurisdictional Determination, Appealable Under Section 37 Arbitration Act: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has recently held that rejection of an impleadment application by an arbitral tribunal amounts to a jurisdictional determination under Sections 16(2) and 16(3) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, and is therefore appealable under Section 37 of the Act. Justice Avneesh Jhingan observed that while deciding whether a non-signatory can be added to arbitration proceedings, the tribunal necessarily rules on its own jurisdiction. “The court on an application for...
Supreme Court Calls Govt. Contractual Clause Foreclosing Redressal Before Courts "Shocking"; Restores Award For ABS Marine
The Supreme Court on Monday expressed shock at the stand taken by the Andaman and Nicobar Administration that a contractual clause made its decision final and beyond challenge, holding that such a term offended the rule of law.The court made the observationwhile setting aside a July 11, 2018 judgment of the Calcutta High Court and restoring an arbitral award of Rs 2.87 crore in favour of ABS Marine Services. The ruling came in a dispute where the Andaman and Nicobar Administration relied on...
After Disputed Arbitrator Steps Down, Supreme Court Restores MSA Global–EPIL Arbitration Dispute To Delhi HC
The Supreme Court has held that the primary ground for restraining MSA Global LLC (Oman) from continuing arbitration proceedings against Engineering Projects (India) Limited ceased to exist after arbitral tribunal member Andre Yeap resigned, whose alleged non-disclosure had formed the basis of the anti-arbitration injunction.Accordingly, setting aside the Delhi High Court's decision dated December 12, 2025, the Supreme Court restored the appeal to the Division Bench for fresh...
Supreme Court Refuses To Interfere With Arbitrator Appointment In Gini & Jony–Benetton Dispute
The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a Special Leave Petition filed by Gini & Jony Ltd. challenging the Delhi High Court's order appointing an arbitrator in its dispute with Benetton India Pvt. Ltd. arising from a distribution agreement for sale of United Colors of Benetton apparel products, involving an unpaid amount of about Rs 91 lakh.After hearing the parties, Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Atul S. Chandurkar dismissed the special leave petition and said: “After hearing the learned...
Supreme Court Issues Notice On Jiostar Plea For Arbitrator In Dispute Over IPL Media Rights For Bangladesh
The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice in an arbitration petition filed by Jiostar India Pvt. Ltd. seeking appointment of an arbitrator in a dispute with UAE-based Green Bean Sports Marketing arising out of a media rights sub-licence agreement relating to the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the territory of Bangladesh.A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi, after hearing counsel, directed issuance of notice returnable on May 15,...
Delhi High Court Rejects SpiceJet Plea To Substitute ₹144.51 Crore Deposit With Property In Dispute With Kalanithi Maran
The Delhi High Court has recently rejected a plea by SpiceJet Ltd. seeking to substitute the court-directed cash deposit of Rs. 144.51 crore with security in the form of a Gurugram property owned by the airline, holding that the request was an abuse of process as similar grounds had already been raised before the Supreme Court and rejected. Justice Subramonium Prasad passed the order while dealing with applications seeking modification of directions issued on January 19, 2026, by which the...
LiveLawBiz Arbitration Weekly Digest: March 15 - March 21, 2026
NOMINAL INDEXUjaas Energy LTD. v. West Bengal Power Development Corporation LTD., 2026 LLBiz SC 122 State of Goa, Rep. By Executive Engineer, Public Works Department v. M/s. U. P. State Bridge Corporation Ltd., 2026 LLBiz HC (BOM) 141 NHAI PIU Aurangabad v. Kerman Sam Amroliwala & Anr.; Kerman Sam Amroliwala v. Competent Authority (Land Acquisition) & Anr., 2026 LLBiz HC (BOM) 143 National Highway Authority of India v. Suresh Pandharinath Matre & Ors., 2026 LLBiz HC (BOM) 151 ...
Contractual Disputes Involving Tax Compliance Arbitrable, Not Sovereign Tax Levy Issues: Allahabad High Court
The Allahabad High Court has recently reiterated that while disputes relating to sovereign functions such as imposition or levy of tax are non-arbitrable, but disputes arising out of contractual obligations between parties, even if they involve issues of tax reimbursement or GST compliance, remain arbitrable. A bench of Justice Vikas Budhwar relying on rulings in Vidya Drolia vs. Durga Trading Corporation and other precedents, observed, "From the law laid down in the aforesaid decisions,It is...