Bombay High Court Allows Builder To Pursue Fresh Arbitration Despite Appeal Against Earlier Award

The Bombay High Court has allowed Vardhaman Builders to pursue fresh arbitration for damages over the termination of a redevelopment agreement, despite a pending appeal against an earlier arbitral award in the same dispute. Justice Sandeep V. Marne noted that the Supreme Court had refused to interfere with an earlier Bombay High Court order that allowed Vardhaman Builders to pursue fresh arbitration limited to damages. He held, “The Apex Court has permitted continuation of parallel...

Nine Years Of Silence In Arbitration Equals Abandonment Under Section 32(2)(c): Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on 8 May held that prolonged inactivity in arbitral proceedings, coupled with absence of any steps for nearly nine years, amounted to implied abandonment, resulting in termination of proceedings under Section 32(2)(c) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. Justice Sandeep V. Marne dismissed the plea seeking appointment of a substitute arbitrator, holding that the arbitral proceedings stood terminated and could not be revived. He observed: “It is incomprehensible...

Bombay High Court Holds Denial Of 30% Solatium Is Computational Error In NH Land Acquisition Cases

The Bombay High Court recently held that denial of 30% solatium in arbitral awards arising from compulsory land acquisition for National Highways projects constitutes a computational error, which can be corrected under Sections 34 and 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, without undertaking a merits review. Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan allowed a batch of appeals filed by landowners, including Prashant Vasant Koregaonkar and others, challenging arbitral awards in proceedings...

Calcutta High Court Upholds ₹151 Crore Arbitral Award On Restitution In Coal Block Dispute

The Calcutta High Court on 5 May upheld major portions of an arbitral award of about Rs. 151 crore in favour of Trans Damodar Coal Mining Pvt Ltd in a dispute arising from cancellation of coal block allocation after the Supreme Court's 2014 judgments. Justice Shampa Sarkar held that even though the mining contract became void after the Supreme Court struck down coal block allocations in 2014, the arbitral tribunal could still grant limited restitutionary relief under the Contract Act and the...

Kolkata East-West Metro: Calcutta High Court Upholds Arbitral Award In Favour Of KMRC

The Calcutta High Court on Friday dismissed a challenge filed by ITD-ITD CEM Joint Venture against an arbitral award arising from the Kolkata East-West Metro Railway Project. It upheld the award in favour of Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (KMRC). Justice Gaurang Kanth rejected the contractor's petition under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act. The challenge was to portions of an arbitral award dated November 21, 2019. The award had rejected the contractor's claims for...

No TDS Payable On National Highways' Land Acquisition Arbitral Awards: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that deducting TDS from compensation awarded under arbitral awards in National Highways acquisition cases is impermissible, holding that forcing land losers to seek tax refunds would defeat the purpose of the land acquisition law's tax exemption.Referring to Section 96 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, the Court observed, "Any interpretation which requires deduction of tax at source...

Mumbai High Project Dispute: Bombay High Court Orders L&T To Keep ₹150 Crore Bank Guarantee Alive

The Bombay High Court has directed Larsen & Toubro Ltd. to continue renewing and keeping alive bank guarantees worth approximately ₹150.34 crore furnished to ONGC Ltd. in a dispute over liquidated damages arising from the Mumbai High North redevelopment project. The court held that ONGC, though largely unsuccessful in the arbitration after the tribunal awarded higher claims to L&T, could still seek interim protection under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act in a rare and...

ONGC Cannot Seek Re-Deposit Of ₹42.89 Crore Withdrawn With Its “No Objection”: AP High Court

The Andhra Pradesh High Court on 7 May held that Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC) cannot compel Deep Industries Ltd. (DIL) to re-deposit Rs. 42.89 crore or furnish security for amounts withdrawn in arbitration proceedings, particularly since ONGC had earlier given a written “no objection” permitting withdrawal without any condition. A Division Bench of Justices Ravi Nath Tilhari and Balaji Medamalli dismissed ONGC's interim application in its pending Section 37 appeal against an...

Section 9 Relief Cannot Restore Ousted LLP Partner Or Confer Final Control: Rajasthan High Court

The Rajasthan High Court on 30 April held that a Commercial Court exercising interim powers under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 cannot grant relief that effectively restores a removed partner or confers operational control over an LLP, as such directions would amount to granting final relief prior to the commencement of arbitration. A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma and Justice Shubha Mehta set aside the Jaipur Commercial Court's directions...

Confirming Party Cannot Invoke Arbitration Clause Without Express Contractual Right: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on 4 May held that a party described only as a “Confirming Party” or merely having signatory status in an agreement cannot invoke the arbitration clause unless the contract expressly grants such a right. Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar dismissed petitions filed by The Atlas Electric Industries Pvt. Ltd. seeking interim protection and appointment of an arbitrator in a dispute concerning an industrial plot in Haryana. He held: “The arbitration clause, in express terms,...

Calcutta High Court Temporarily Stays Arbitral Award In Tata Nano Singur Land Acquisition Dispute

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday (May 7) temporarily stayed for eight weeks the enforcement of a ₹765.78 crore arbitral award passed in favour of Tata Motors Ltd against the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation Ltd (WBIDC) in the dispute over the acquisition of land in Singur for Tata's Nano factory. An arbitral tribunal had, on October 30, 2023 directed WBIDC to pay Tata Motors ₹765.78 crore with interest at 11% per annum. Justice Aniruddha Roy granted an unconditional interim...

Limitation In Arbitration Begins From Denial Of Claim, Not Section 21 Notice: Madhya Pradesh High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on 4 May held that limitation for an arbitral claim begins when the claim is denied or repudiated, and not from the date of issuance of notice under Section 21 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. It further held that an arbitral tribunal commits patent illegality if it treats the Section 21 notice as the starting point of limitation. A Bench of Justice Vivek Jain partly allowed the appeal filed by Northern Coal Fields Ltd. (NCL) and set aside portions of...