High Courts
Order Requiring Deposit Of Entire Arbitral Award For Stay Not Appealable: Rajasthan High Court
The Rajasthan High Court has held that an order directing a party to deposit the entire arbitral award amount as a condition for staying enforcement of the award is not appealable under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. Holding that Section 13 of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, does not create an independent right of appeal, the bench observed, "As an upshot, we hold that an order passed under Section 36(3), whether granting stay unconditionally, conditionally, or refusing it, is not...
Supreme Court Alone Can Decide Replacement Of Arbitrator It Appointed: Karnataka High Court
The Karnataka High Court has held that once the Supreme Court appoints an arbitrator under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, any issue arising later that affects the constitution of the arbitral tribunal, including the arbitrator's recusal, withdrawal or substitution, can be decided only by the Supreme Court.A single-judge bench of Justice Suraj Govindaraj observed, "The appointment of the Arbitrator was not by the institutional mechanism of SIAC or from any consensual...
Delhi High Court Bars Unity Small Finance Bank From Considering Share Capital Increase Without BharatPe's Consent
The Delhi High Court on Friday held that Unity Small Finance Bank could not place before its board a proposal to increase its authorised share capital and amend its Memorandum of Association without the prior written consent of BharatPe, which owns a 49% stake in the bank. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela granted interim relief to BharatPe (Resilient Innovations Private Limited), holding that the proposal fell within "Reserved Matters" under the parties' Shareholders' Agreement (SHA)."If the SHA...
Delhi High Court Sets Aside Arbitral Award Rejecting Spectrum Power's GST Refund Claim Against GAIL
The Delhi High Court has set aside an arbitral award rejecting Spectrum Power Generation Limited's claim for refund of GST reimbursed to GAIL (India) Limited under a Gas Sale Agreement, holding that the award suffered from patent illegality.The court held that GAIL was required to independently establish that it had deposited GST and that the arbitral tribunal could not rely on disputed tax payment receipts without first deciding their admissibility.Justice Avneesh Jhingan observed, "In the...
Settled Disputes Cannot Be Revived Without Express Reservation Of Future Claims: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court on 23 July held that parties cannot reopen issues settled through a settlement agreement after acting upon the settlement without reserving any future claims, as such a course would undermine certainty, consistency and finality in disputes. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela upheld an arbitral award granting Atlanta Infra Assets Limited a 53-day extension of the concession period for the Nagpur-Kondhali section of National Highway-6 in Maharashtra, including an additional 28 days...
Report Of Expert Board Constituted By Consent Cannot Be Executed As Arbitral Award: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has held that an expert board constituted through consent orders to determine service charges cannot be treated as an arbitral tribunal merely because the parties agreed to its constitution. It ruled that the Board's report, which contained recommendations, could not be treated as an arbitral award, decree or any other executable instrument. Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar dismissed an execution petition filed by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), which...
Karnataka High Court Upholds Arbitral Award Cancelling JDA Over Mutual Breach By Developer And Landowners
The Karnataka High Court has upheld an arbitral award cancelling a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) between Fortuna Constructions (India) Pvt. Ltd. and a group of landowners for a residential apartment project in Bengaluru. It held that the arbitral tribunal was justified in refusing specific performance after finding that both sides had failed to fulfil their contractual obligations. A bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M. Poonacha observed that the tribunal had not decided...
Madras High Court Sets Aside Part Of Arbitral Award Against Tuticorin Port Trust Over Water Charges
The Madras High Court has partly set aside an arbitral award that held Tuticorin Port Trust (now V.O. Chidambaranar Port Trust) liable to pay water charges under the "Other Beneficiaries" category from December 1, 2002. The dispute arose between the Port Trust and the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD Board).A division bench of Justice P. Velmurugan and Justice K. Govindarajan Thilakavadi held that the award suffered from patent illegality. It found that the arbitrator failed to...
Fresh Employment Agreement Doesn't Automatically End Arbitration Clause In Earlier Contract: Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court has recently held that execution of a fresh employment agreement does not, by itself, extinguish an arbitration agreement contained in an earlier contract. It observed that whether the earlier contract stood completely substituted depends on the parties' intention, which must be gathered from the overall transaction rather than from the later agreement alone.Justice Amit Borkar delivered the ruling while partly allowing a petition filed by Sarla Advantech Private Limited...
MSCS Act Arbitral Awards Executable Under Act After 2023 Amendment, Not Arbitration Law: Madras High Court
The Madras High Court has upheld execution proceedings initiated by a Sales Officer appointed by the Central Registrar to enforce an arbitral award passed under the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002, holding that where the Act itself provides the procedure for execution, the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, does not govern the process.Justice P.B. Balaji dismissed a civil revision petition filed by T.K. Kares, the judgment-debtor, who had challenged the execution proceedings...
Delhi High Court Refuses Stay On Encashment Of Bank Guarantees In Jodhpur Railway Station Redevelopment Dispute
The Delhi High Court has refused an interim plea under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act seeking to restrain North Western Railway from invoking performance bank guarantees worth about ₹17.24 crore furnished under a ₹474.52 crore EPC contract for the redevelopment of Jodhpur Railway Station. The court held that the contractor had failed to establish the limited grounds on which unconditional bank guarantees can be restrained.Justice Subramonium Prasad held that the contractor had neither...