Third Parties Can Challenge Arbitral Interim Orders Affecting Their Rights: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on 5 March held that third parties whose rights are directly affected by arbitral proceedings can challenge interim orders as veritable parties under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, even if they are not signatories to the arbitration agreement. Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan made the observation while hearing petitions by flat purchasers and legal heirs of Mohammed Ali M. Sali in a dispute over a 2009 Joint Development Agreement with Rajaram Chavan Real Estate Pvt....

Dispute With Composite Cause Of Action Against Multiple Parties Not Arbitrable: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court on 6 March refused to refer a commercial dispute between Tirupati Vancom Pvt. Ltd. and others to arbitration, as the suit involved several defendants. Justice Aniruddha Roy dismissed an application under Section 8 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, observing that where the cause of action and reliefs are inseparably connected, a dispute cannot be split and referred to arbitration even if an arbitration clause exists between some of the parties. He...

Delhi High Court Upholds Arbitral Award That Found Commission Was Not Automatic Under Representative Agreement

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday upheld an arbitral award in a commission dispute between a consultancy firm and an oil and gas pipeline services company. The court affirmed the arbitrator's view that a representative appointed under a commercial agreement does not automatically become entitled to commission every time the company secures a project from the same customer. A Division Bench of Justice Anil Kshetrapal and Justice Amit Mahajan dismissed an appeal and affirmed an earlier decision...

Gauhati High Court Allows Writ Despite Arbitration Clause After Finding ESIC's Action In GeM Contract Arbitrary

The Gauhati High Court has recently allowed a writ petition against ESIC authorities over non-payment of dues under a government procurement contract, despite the existence of an arbitration clause, after finding the state authority's conduct arbitrary.The observation came in a case arising out of a Government e-Marketplace procurement in which an ESIC hospital withheld payment even after issuing an acceptance certificate for medical equipment supplied under the contract. The court directed the...

Punjab & Haryana HC Dismisses Plea Seeking Appointment Of Arbitrator While Also Seeking Termination of Existing Arbitrator

The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently dismissed an arbitration petition seeking appointment of an arbitrator while also seeking termination of the mandate of a sole arbitrator already conducting the proceedings. A Single Bench of Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri imposed costs of Rs 25,000 on the petitioner and observed, “It is very surprising as to how an application under Section 11 of the Act would be maintainable before this Court and a specific query in this regard was put to the...

Andhra Pradesh High Court Dismisses Arbitration Appeal After State Filed Challenge As 'Government' Instead Of 'State'

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has recently dismissed an appeal challenging a Rs 199.96-crore arbitral award arising out of the Pulichintala Dam project dispute after the state failed to correct the description of the party from “Government of Andhra Pradesh” to “State of Andhra Pradesh” despite being given an opportunity to do so. A Division Bench of Justice R. Raghunandan Rao and Justice T.C.D. Sekhar, in a judgment dated March 6, 2026, held that under Article 300 of the Constitution and...

Failure To Commence Arbitration Within 90 Days Does Not Vitiate Interim Proceedings: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on 23 February, observed that interim relief granted under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (the Act) does not automatically get vitiated merely because arbitral proceedings were not commenced within 90 days as required under Section 9(2) of the Act. Justice T.R. Ravi clarified that proceedings to enforce the interim relief would also constitute proceedings under Section 9, and therefore the 90-day calculation is not limited to the original interim...

Madras High Court Allows Enforcement Of Foreign Arbitral Award Against Non-Signatory That Issued Cheque As Security For Claim

The Madras High Court has allowed enforcement of a foreign arbitral award against a group company after noting that it had voluntarily issued a cheque as security for the disputed demurrage claim arising from a shipping contract. A division bench of Justice C.V. Karthikeyan and Justice K. Kumaresh Babu observed that by issuing the cheque as security for the award amount, the company had effectively undertaken to satisfy the award if the charterer failed to do so. It therefore could not avoid...

Interim Relief Under Arbitration Act Cannot Supplant Execution Proceedings: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court recently observed that a petition seeking interim relief under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act cannot be used as a substitute for execution proceedings under the Civil Procedure Code. “An application under Section 9 can supplement but cannot supplant the process of execution contemplated through Order XXI of the Code,” Justice N. Anand Venkatesh said. The court explained that although a Section 9 petition may remain maintainable until an arbitral award...

Writ Not Maintainable Against MSME Council Award When Remedy Exists Under Arbitration Act: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has reiterated that a writ petition challenging an arbitral award passed by a Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council cannot ordinarily be entertained when the aggrieved party has an effective statutory remedy under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act. A single bench of Justice V. Lakshminarayanan observed that parties cannot invoke writ jurisdiction under Article 226 to set aside such awards when the arbitration statute itself provides a mechanism...

Courts Cannot Re-Examine Merits Of Foreign Arbitral Awards At Enforcement Stage: Bombay High Court Reiterates

The Bombay High Court has reiterated that courts considering enforcement of foreign arbitral awards under Section 48 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 cannot re-examine the merits of the award or undertake a fresh evaluation of the evidence. A single-judge bench of Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan observed that the jurisdiction of an enforcement court under Section 48 is limited and does not permit a review of the arbitral tribunal's findings. “The scope of jurisdiction of the Section...

LiveLawBiz Arbitration Monthly Digest: February 2026

Nominal IndexR. Savithri Naidu v. The Cotton Corporation of India Ltd. & Anr., 2026 LLBiz SC 66Aspek Media Pvt Ltd & Ors. vs Entertainment City Ltd, 2026 LLBiz SC 68Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilisers Ltd vs Thermax Ltd, 2026 LLBiz SC 70Asad Mueed & Ors. vs Jamia Hamdard Deemed to Be University, 2026 LLBiz SC 65Talwandi Sabo Power Ltd vs Punjab State Power Corporation, 2026 LLBiz SC 72A2Z Infraservices Ltd & Anr vs Quippo Infrastructure Ltd & Ors, 2026 LLBiz SC 60National...