Karnataka High Court Refers To Larger Bench Whether Residential JDAs Fall Under Commercial Courts Act

The Karnataka High Court has referred to a larger bench the question of whether Joint Development Agreements (JDAs) for residential projects can be treated as "construction and infrastructure contracts" under the Commercial Courts Act. The referral came after the court held that a dispute arising from a Bengaluru residential apartment project was not a commercial dispute and could not be entertained by a Commercial Court. Justice Tara Vitasta Ganju held that the dispute arising from a Joint...

Disputes Relating To Payment For Work Done Not Covered Under “Excepted Matters” Arbitrable: MP High Court

The Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on 4 May appointed an arbitrator in a dispute between Western Railway and a service provider after rejecting the Railway's contention that the dispute was non-arbitrable, holding that claims for payment of dues for work already executed fall outside the “excepted matters” under the contract. Justice Pavan Kumar Dwivedi allowed the petition under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, observing: “In view of the above analysis...

Gujarat High Court Temporarily Halts Arbitration Over Vapi Lakes Lease Agreements

The Gujarat High Court on Monday directed that no further proceedings be conducted in arbitration proceedings between Vapi Municipal Corporation and Shashijit Infra Projects Limited arising from lease agreements relating to Lakhamdev Lake, Dungra Lake, and Chala Lake in Vapi. The direction will remain in force until the next hearing before the Court on June 18. Justice L.S. Pirzada passed the order while issuing notice in petitions filed by the Municipal Corporation challenging the continuation...

Mere Status As Ultimate Beneficiary Does Not Warrant Impleadment Of Non-Signatory In Arbitration: Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court has reiterated that arbitration is founded on consent and party autonomy, holding that an entity cannot be impleaded in arbitral proceedings merely because it is the ultimate beneficiary of a project. The Court set aside orders that had added IIM Jammu as a party to arbitration-related proceedings arising from disputes between Ramacivil India Construction Pvt. Ltd. and the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) over construction of the permanent campus of IIM Jammu at Jagti,...

Arbitration Act 2015 Amendment To Section 12(5) Cannot Be Applied Retrospectively: Punjab & Haryana High Court

On 29 May, the Punjab and Haryana High Court held that executing courts cannot retrospectively apply the post-2015 neutrality regime under Section 12(5) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, to refuse enforcement of arbitral awards rendered under the law prevailing at the time of the arbitrator's appointment. A Bench of Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri allowed the revision petitions, set aside seven executing court orders, and directed continuation of execution proceedings. It observed: ...

Disputes On Corporate Restructuring Must Be Decided by NCLT, Not Arbitrator: Kerala High Court

On 1 June 2026, the Kerala High Court held that disputes involving corporate restructuring and division of company assets fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and are non-arbitrable. A Single Judge Bench of Justice Easwaran S allowed the petition challenging an arbitral ruling that had rejected a jurisdictional objection under Section 16 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. He observed: “Albeit, this Courts finds that the dispute before...

No Patent Illegality In Award Granting Security Forfeiture And Differential Cost Recovery: Telangana HC

The Telangana High Court on 4 May held that where a contract expressly provides for forfeiture of security and recovery of differential costs, the aggrieved party may invoke both remedies upon breach. A Division Bench of Justices Moushumi Bhattacharya and Gadi Praveen Kumar dismissed the appeal filed by Ashok Rakesh Kumar and upheld an arbitral award in favour of the A.P. Nutrition Council (APNC), finding no patent illegality in the Tribunal granting both forms of relief. The judges...

Madhya Pradesh High Court Sets Aside ₹4.56 Crore MSME Award, Says Conciliation Cannot Be an 'Eyewash'

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that conciliation under the MSMED Act cannot be reduced to an “eyewash”, while setting aside an award passed by the Madhya Pradesh Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council against Aurionpro Solutions Ltd. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf held that the Council could not proceed to arbitration without first conducting and terminating conciliation proceedings in the manner prescribed by law. Observing that...

Delhi High Court Rejects Oracle's Challenge To Award Refusing Transfer Of 'Exadata.in' Domain

The Delhi High Court has refused to interfere with an arbitral award rejecting Oracle International Corporation's bid to secure the transfer of the domain name “www.exadata.in”. The court held that the arbitrator had arrived at a plausible factual conclusion that the threshold necessary for establishing bad-faith registration or use under the .IN Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (INDRP) had not been met. Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar held that similarity between Oracle's registered...

Arbitrator's Plausible Reading Of Ambiguous Contract Clause Not Ground To Set Aside Award: Rajasthan HC

The Rajasthan High Court has held that where a contract contains an ambiguous term and the arbitrator adopts a plausible interpretation of that term, such interpretation does not amount to misconduct under Section 30 of the Arbitration Act, 1940. Justice Sandeep Shah upheld an arbitral award passed nearly two decades ago against the Union of India (UOI) in a dispute arising from fencing work along the Indo-Pak border and affirmed the arbitral award as well as the order of the District Judge,...

Manipur High Court Sets Aside ₹10 Crore Lottery Damages Award Favouring State, Cites No Proof Of Loss

The Manipur High Court on 30 May held that compensation under a liquidated damages clause cannot be awarded without evidence of actual loss where such loss is capable of proof, and partly set aside an arbitral award arising from a dispute over delayed commencement of online lottery draws. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice M. Sundar and Justice A. Bimol Singh partly allowed MWC Market Services Pvt. Ltd.'s appeal under Section 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, setting...

LiveLawBiz Arbitration Cases Weekly Digest: May 25 - May 30, 2026

NOMINAL INDEXAshok and Ors. v. Padam Chand and Ors., 2026 LLBiz SC 211Madhya Pradesh Road Development Corporation Ltd. v. M/s Jabalpur Corridor Pvt. Ltd., 2026 LLBiz SC 210Tarini Prasad Mohanty v. M/s Sunflag Iron and Steel Company Limited, 2026 LLBiz SC 206Bhupesh Bhayana and Another v. Kunal Seth and Another, 2026 LLBiz SC 205Gujarat Water Supply and Sewerage Board v. Saryu Plastics Pvt. Ltd., 2026 LLBiz SC 203M/S BRH Wealth Kreators Ltd. v. Sudhir Kumar Aggarwal, 2026 LLBiz HC (DEL)...