Delhi High Court Upholds ₹662 Crore Toyo-L&T Award, Says Contract Interpretation Cannot Be Revisited

The Delhi High Court on 15 July upheld an arbitral award of around Rs. 662 crore in favour of the consortium of Toyo Engineering Corporation and Larsen & Toubro Limited, holding that an arbitral tribunal's plausible interpretation of contractual terms cannot be re-examined under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. Justice Amit Bansal dismissed the petition filed by Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) challenging the award, holding that the arbitral tribunal had...

Delhi High Court Upholds Arbitral Award, Says Tribunal Cannot Revisit Merits After Passing Award

The Delhi High Court has held that once an arbitral award is passed, the arbitral tribunal becomes functus officio and cannot reopen the merits of its decision. Its powers thereafter are confined to correcting computational, clerical, typographical, or similar errors. Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar delivered the ruling while dismissing cross-petitions filed by Supreme Advertising Private Limited and Genus Power Infrastructures Limited. The court observed, "Once an award is rendered, the...

Calcutta High Court Upholds Arbitral Award Rejecting ₹205.70 Crore Claims Against KMRCL

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday dismissed an appeal filed by ITD-ITD CEM Joint Venture and upheld an arbitral award rejecting its claims of about ₹205.70 crore against Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (KMRCL). It found no ground to interfere with the tribunal's conclusions or the earlier order refusing to set aside the award. A division bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Md. Shabbar Rashidi upheld the May 8, 2026 judgment of the Single Judge. It held, "We are of the view that the...

Party Cannot Reopen Maintainability Of Fresh Arbitration After Challenging Earlier Award: MP High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has recently held that a party cannot reopen the issue of maintainability at the stage of appointment of an arbitrator after having challenged an earlier arbitral award and after a court permitted fresh arbitration if disputes persisted. The ruling came while the court appointed a fresh arbitrator to adjudicate a dispute between MSP Infrastructures Limited and Madhya Pradesh Road Development Corporation Ltd. (MPRDCL). Justice Deepak Khot held that the question of...

Bombay High Court Appoints Arbitrator In GE Power-Unistar Dispute Despite Defective Section 21 Notice

The Bombay High Court on 14 July held that a defective notice invoking arbitration does not invalidate the commencement of arbitral proceedings where the arbitration agreement has been invoked and the disputes between the parties are clearly identified. Justice Arun R. Pedneker appointed former Bombay High Court Judge Justice Anuja Prabhudessai as the sole arbitrator to adjudicate the dispute between Unistar Metals Private Limited and GE Power Limited under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and...

Arbitrator's Hasty Closure of Evidence During COVID Violated Section 18, Vitiating Award: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court has set aside an arbitral award after finding that the arbitrator unnecessarily hastened to close a party's right to lead evidence during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.The Court held that such treatment violated the requirement under Section 18 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 to treat the parties equally and give each side a full opportunity to present its case. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice D.N. Ray set aside...

Delhi High Court Says NHAI Cannot Avoid Payments After PCC Issuance, Upholds ₹411 Crore Escrow Awards

The Delhi High Court on 9 July held that a party cannot avoid contractual obligations arising from a Provisional Completion Certificate (PCC) after its issuance by subsequently keeping the certificate in abeyance. A Division Bench comprising Justices V. Kameswar Rao and Vinod Kumar dismissed two appeals filed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) against lender banks led by South Indian Bank Limited. It observed: “The aforesaid conclusion of the learned Tribunal and the learned...

Party Aware Of Arbitration Can't Challenge Unilateral Arbitrator's Appointment For First Time In Appeal: Madras HC

The Madras High Court has held that a party that knew of arbitral proceedings, sought adjournments, and then remained ex parte cannot raise a challenge to the unilateral appointment of the arbitrator for the first time in a Section 37 appeal after remaining silent for nearly ten years. A Division Bench of Justice P. Velmurugan and Justice K. Govindarajan Thilakavadi dismissed an appeal by Nirmal Datacomm Private Limited and others against an arbitral award directing them to pay Redington...

Relief Sought, Not Property Location, Decides Jurisdiction If Arbitration Seat Is Unspecified: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has recently held that territorial jurisdiction cannot be determined solely by the location of partnership properties or the registered office of a partnership firm where the partnership deed containing an arbitration clause does not specify the arbitral seat.Instead, the court held, the material facts constituting the foundation of the relief sought must determine jurisdiction.Justice Amit Borkar delivered the ruling while deciding a petition filed by Vinod Kumar Saraf...

Withdrawal Of Civil Suit Doesn't Extinguish Arbitration Agreement: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has held that withdrawal of an earlier civil suit without liberty to institute fresh proceedings does not extinguish the arbitration agreement or bar a subsequent petition under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 for constitution of an arbitral tribunal. In doing so, the Court distinguished the Supreme Court's decision in HPCL Bio-Fuels Ltd. v. Shahaji Bhanudas Bhad, which involved the unconditional withdrawal of an earlier Section 11...

Requirement To File Commercial Suits Before Commercial Division Applies To Applications Too: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has held that the requirement to institute commercial disputes before its Commercial Division applies not only to suits but also to applications involving the specified value. A Division Bench of Justices Debangsu Basak and Md. Shabbar Rashidi clarified that Section 7 of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 governs not only commercial suits but also applications, including petitions under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. It accordingly set aside the...

Arbitral Award Overlooking Enabling Statute Contravenes Fundamental Policy of Indian Law: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has held that overlooking the provisions of the enabling statute while passing an arbitral award is an act in contravention of the fundamental policy of Indian law. It said such a glaring contravention justifies interference under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, while upholding the setting aside of an arbitral award that had enhanced compensation for land acquired for the NH-47 bypass. Justice S. Manu observed, "Above all, the arbitrator has not...