ARBITRATION
MSMEs Need Not Always Approach Facilitation Council; Arbitration Clause Enforceable: Karnataka High Court
The Karnataka High Court has recently held that enterprises are not required in every case to move the Facilitation Council under Chapter V of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006, which provides a mechanism for referring delayed payment disputes to the Council. Justice Suraj Govindaraj clarified that a contractual arbitration clause remains enforceable unless the statutory process under Section 18 is actually invoked. “It cannot be said, as an absolute proposition,...
LiveLawBiz Arbitration Cases Weekly Digest : February 9 - February 15, 2026
Nominal Index A2Z Infraservices Ltd & Anr vs Quippo Infrastructure Ltd & Ors 2026 LLBiz SC 60Ankhim Holdings Pvt. Ltd. & Anr. versus Zaveri Construction Pvt. Ltd. 2026 LLBiz SC 53Aggarwal Sons v. Union of India and Others 2026 LLBiz HC (PNH) 8Airports Authority of India v. URC Construction (P) Ltd 2026 LLBiz HC (DEL) 146E-City Real Estates Pvt Ltd & ANR vs IMAX Corporation & Ors 2026 LLBiz SC 22Fresh and Healthy Enterprise Ltd v. Global AgriSystem Pvt Ltd & connected...
Copy Of Arbitration Agreement Sufficient Where Original Not Available: Calcutta High Court
The Calcutta High Court on Thursday held that an application seeking reference to arbitration cannot be rejected merely because the original arbitration agreement or a certified copy is not produced, if the statutory requirements under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act are otherwise satisfied. A Single Bench of Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya set aside the orders of the trial court and the first appellate court, which had refused to refer the parties to arbitration. The court observed that...
Withdrawal Of Arbitrator Does Not Automatically Terminate Arbitral Proceedings: Bombay High Court
The court revived the stalled arbitration between Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd. and Ghosh Brothers Automobiles after appointing former Bombay HC Judge Justice R.Y. Ganoo (Retd.) as substitute arbitrator
Delhi High Court Upholds ₹2.57 Crore Award Against AAI In Mangalore Airport Control Tower Construction Delay Case
The Delhi High Court has recently dismissed a challenge by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and upheld an arbitral award directing it to pay Rs. 2.57 Crore with interest and Rs 7 lakh as costs to URC Construction (P) Ltd. The Court held that the 477-day delay in constructing a new control tower-cum-technical block at Mangalore International Airport was attributable to AAI. The award grants interest at 10% per annum from September 4, 2017, till the date of the award, and further 10% from...
Delhi High Court Holds Breach of Settlement Not Contempt In Siemens‑DAMEPL Arbitration
The Delhi High Court has held that contempt proceedings cannot be initiated if the judgment debtor defaults, when there is a settlement agreement between parties specifying the consequences of non-payment. A Bench of Justice Sachin Datta were hearing a case between Siemens Limited and Siemens Aktiengesellschaft (“Siemens”), the decree holders, and Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Limited (“DAMEPL”), the judgment debtor, arising from an arbitral award which partly allowed Siemens' claims. ...
Direction To Deposit Proceeds In Escrow Warranted Only In Limited Circumstances: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has recently held that a direction to deposit proceeds in an escrow account cannot be issued as a matter of routine in arbitration dispute. The court observed that such an arrangement is ordinarily warranted only where the underlying contract providing for escrow is subsisting or where there is material to show that the party receiving the money is likely to divert it and lacks sufficient assets to satisfy the award if it goes against it. A Bench of Justices Manoj Misra...
Supreme Court Directs NHAI To Deposit 50% of ₹1,019 Crore Award In Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway Dispute
The Supreme Court has recently modified a Delhi High Court order that had directed the National Highways Authority of India to deposit the entire arbitral award of over Rs. 1,019 crore in its dispute with Vadodara Mumbai Expressway PKG-08 Pvt. Ltd., and instead ordered it to deposit 50% of the total amount referred to in its order. A bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan was hearing special leave petitions arising out of the High Court's November 19, 2025 order passed in...
Conciliation Gets Award Status Under Arbitration Act Unless Expressly Excluded by Parties: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has recently restored a civil suit challenging a family partition deed and an alleged conciliation award, observing that any conciliation conducted in accordance with Part III of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 would attain the status and effect of an award unless the parties have expressly agreed to exclude its application. “On a reading of Section 61, any conciliation between two parties brought about by following the procedure in Part III of the Act of 1996 would...
Delhi High Court Dismisses Cross-Petitions In FHEL-GAPL Arbitration, Confirms Damages & Rental Awards
The Delhi High Court on 11 February upheld an arbitral award directing Fresh and Healthy Enterprises Ltd (FHEL) to pay over Rs. 80 lakh in damages to Global AgriSystem Pvt Ltd (GAPL) for failure to maintain agreed storage conditions, while also confirming FHEL's entitlement to over Rs. 87 lakh towards rental and handling charges. A Single Bench of Justice Jasmeet Singh dismissed cross-petitions filed by both companies, while reiterated that courts exercising jurisdiction under Section 34 of...
Housing Society Bound By Arbitration Clause In Individual Sale Agreements: Bombay High Court
On 10 February, the Bombay High Court held that a co-operative housing society, although a distinct legal entity, is a “veritable party” to the agreements signed by its individual members and is therefore bound by the arbitration clauses embedded within them. The Single Bench of Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan, emphasised that when a society is formed specifically to represent the collective interests of homebuyers, it inherits the obligations of arbitration contained in the individual sale...