Delhi High Court Restrains NCERT From Invoking ₹6.09 Crore Bank Guarantee Against Paper Supplier

The Delhi High Court has restrained the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) from taking coercive steps to invoke a ₹6.09 crore bank guarantee furnished by a paper supplier. It also directed that no coercive action be taken pursuant to NCERT's order terminating the supply contract and debarring the company for two years, until the next hearing on July 20. Justice Mini Pushkarna passed the interim order in an arbitration petition filed by Bafna Global Venture Pvt. Ltd....

Madras High Court Allows Telecom Contractor To Bid In Fresh BSNL Tender Pending Arbitration

The Madras High Court has granted interim relief to Universal Tele Services by allowing it to submit a bid in a fresh Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) tender for telecom operations. The dispute over the termination of its contracts will meanwhile be decided through arbitration. The court directed that BSNL should process the bid only after the arbitrator passes orders. Justice K. Kumaresh Babu passed the order. The court also clarified an earlier order appointing former High Court judge...

Telangana High Court Refers Cinepolis-Sree Thirumala Dispute To Arbitration, Appoints Former Acting CJ

The Telangana High Court has appointed former Acting Chief Justice Justice P. Naveen Rao as an independent arbitrator to adjudicate disputes between Cinepolis India Private Limited and Sree Thirumala Infra Private Limited. The order was passed by Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh after the parties agreed to the appointment. The court also took on record the statutory disclosure submitted by the proposed arbitrator. Cinepolis and Sree Thirumala Infra had entered into a Memorandum of...

Uttarakhand High Court Upholds Award, Finds No Bar To Arbitration After Partial Settlement Of Insurance Claim

The Uttarakhand High Court has recently upheld an arbitral award directing Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. to pay ₹34,000 to Vigyan Chemical Industries in an insurance claim dispute. The court rejected the insurer's contention that acceptance of a lower amount against the claim prevented the insured from seeking the balance through arbitration. Justice Ravindra Maithani heard the appeal filed by Oriental Insurance against a District Judge's order refusing to set aside the award. Observing that...

Madras High Court Stays Release Of Dileep-Starrer 'Neekkam' Over Financial Dispute

The Madras High Court has restrained the release, distribution, and exhibition of the Malayalam film 'Neekkam', starring Dileep and directed by Jagan Shaji Kailas. The temporary order came on a plea filed by A.V. Anoop, proprietor of AVA Productions, who claimed a contractual charge over the film after alleging that its producer had failed to repay advances extended under earlier production agreements.Justice K. Kumaresh Babu granted ad-interim protection to AVA Productions. The court also...

Calcutta High Court Refers ₹38 Crore Railway Contract Dispute To Arbitration, Says No Claim Certificate No Bar

The Calcutta High Court has recently referred a ₹38.07 crore dispute arising out of an Eastern Railway bridge construction contract to arbitration, reiterating that the existence of a No Claim Certificate does not, by itself, render disputes non-arbitrable. Justice Gaurang Kanth constituted a three-member arbitral tribunal headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose, with Senior Advocates Ritzu Ghosal and Saptangshu Basu as co-arbitrators. "It is well settled that the...

MP High Court Appoints Arbitrator, Says Party Cannot Oppose Arbitration After Conceding To It In Similar Disputes

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that a party cannot "blow hot and cold" on arbitration by opposing arbitral reference after having accepted or relied on arbitration in similar disputes arising from the same agreement. The court consequently appointed a sole arbitrator to resolve a dispute over the valuation of shares following a proposed exit from a shareholders' agreement. Justice Deepak Khot passed the order in a dispute between JVS Foods Pvt. Ltd. and M.P. State Agro Industries...

Patna High Court Refers Nalanda Cafeteria Dispute To Arbitration, Holds Conduct Can Establish Agreement

The Patna High Court on 18 June allowed an appeal filed by the Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation Ltd. against the contractor operating Nalanda Cafeteria, set aside the order of the Additional District Judge rejecting a Section 8 application, and directed reference of the dispute to arbitration under Clause 40 of the allotment letter.Justice Khatim Reza held that conduct of parties such as acceptance of an allotment letter, payment of licence fees and continued commercial operation can...

Correction Of Contradictory Operative Direction Does Not Amount To Review Of Award: Patna High Court

The Patna High Court on 18 June held that an arbitral tribunal may correct an apparent contradiction or computation error under Section 33 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, where the correction aligns the operative portion of the award with the tribunal's findings and does not amount to a review on merits. A Division Bench of Justices Rajeev Ranjan Prasad and Kumar Manish dismissed the appeal filed by Ganesh Foundry and Castings Limited and upheld the additional arbitral award as...

Not-Producing Power Of Attorney Is A Curable Defect, Cannot Terminate Arbitration: Gujarat High Court

On 22 June, the Gujarat High Court held that non-production of a Power of Attorney in arbitral proceedings is a curable procedural defect and cannot, by itself, justify rejection of a claim or termination of arbitration proceedings. Justice Niral R. Mehta allowed a writ petition filed by a homebuyer and set aside an arbitral tribunal's order rejecting his claim against Shalin Infrastructure, restoring the arbitral proceedings. The Bench observed: “The jurisdiction vested in an arbitral...

Works Contract Disputes Must Go To Statutory Tribunal, Not Private Arbitration: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court on 19 June held that payment disputes arising from agreements which are, in substance, public works contracts cannot be referred to private arbitration under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 and must instead be adjudicated by the Gujarat Public Works Contracts Disputes Arbitration Tribunal under the Public Works Contracts Disputes Arbitration Tribunal Act, 1992.Justice D.N. Ray dismissed a Section 11 petition filed by Soham Consultancy Services seeking...

Challenge To Rejected Jurisdiction Objection Must Ordinarily Await Arbitral Award: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has recently held that an order rejecting a jurisdictional objection by an arbitral tribunal cannot ordinarily be challenged through a writ petition while arbitral proceedings are pending. Such a challenge must ordinarily await the arbitral award stage. Justice Suraj Govindaraj delivered the ruling while declining to interfere with an order of a sole arbitrator who had rejected a challenge to the tribunal's jurisdiction in a dispute arising from an Agreement of Sale. ...