Director Not Party To Company's Articles of Association Cannot Invoke Arbitration Under the Articles: Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court has held that a director who has neither signed nor is a party to a company's Articles of Association cannot invoke an arbitration clause contained in those articles. A single judge bench of Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav said that arbitration requires clear and demonstrable consent. The court observed that "Thus, the mere existence of a document, despite it containing an arbitration clause, and persons, even if they are party to it, would not qualify as an...

Court Can Extend Arbitrator's Mandate Even After Its Expiry: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has reiterated that an arbitrator's authority does not end automatically on expiry of the time limit prescribed under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The court said that it retains the power to extend an arbitrator's mandate even after expiry of the time fixed and that in this case the parties had consented by their conduct. Applying this settled position, the court extended the mandate of the arbitrator in the case before it and refused to terminate the...

Arbitrator Appointment Challenges Must Be Raised Before Tribunal, Not In Interim Appeals: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has held that its role is limited when hearing an appeal against an interim order passed under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act. At this stage, the court cannot examine whether the arbitrator was properly appointed or has the authority to act. A Single Judge Bench of Justice S Manu said such objections must be raised before the arbitral tribunal itself. “Competency of the Arbitral Tribunal is a matter to be raised before the Tribunal by the party having a...

Executing Court Cannot Add Interest on Capital Expenditure If Arbitral Award Is Silent: MP High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that courts enforcing arbitration awards cannot add interest on capital expenditure by default when the arbitral award is silent and there is no delay in payment. It also ruled that courts enforcing arbitration awards cannot redo the electricity pricing formula used to calculate payments to power distributors once an arbitral award has become final.A Division Bench of Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Pradeep Mittal said an executing court has a limited role....

Bar On Court Granting Interim Relief Once Tribunal Is Constituted Applies Even In Foreign Arbitration: Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court has refused to grant interim relief to a Singapore-based company, holding that once a foreign-seated arbitral tribunal is constituted, Indian courts should be slow in entertaining unless the party shows that the tribunal cannot provide an effective remedy.Justice Bharati Dangre clarified that this principle applies even to foreign-seated arbitrations. While Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act (for interim relief) can be invoked in such cases, the bar...

Complete Assignment for Consideration Prevails Over Conditional Agreement for Transfer of Future Shares: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court upheld an arbitral award involving a long-standing family dispute over shares in a demerged company. Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan held the arbitral tribunal's decision—that a later sale to a bona fide purchaser takes precedence over an earlier conditional arrangement—to be a plausible and well-reasoned conclusion. Background: The dispute arose from intra-family transactions within the Somani family concerning entitlement to 9.06% equity shares of Shreeniwas House...

Specific Performance After Contract Termination Permissible If Revived By Conduct, Even In Arbitration: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that the principle barring specific performance of a terminated contract is not an absolute rule and is subject to an exception where subsequent conduct of parties indicates revival of contractual obligations, particularly in arbitration proceedings.Justice Sandeep V. Marne made the observation while hearing a petition filed by Lotus Logistics and Developers Pvt. Ltd, challenging an arbitral award passed in favour of Evertop Apartments Co-operative Housing Society...

Mere Delay In Pronouncement Of Arbitral Award Does Not Invalidate It Unless Prejudice Is Shown: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that mere delay in pronouncement of an arbitral award does not by itself suffice to set it aside under section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 ("Arbitration Act") unless the delay is undue, unexplained and demonstrably prejudicial to the parties.The Delhi High Court has held that a delay in the pronouncement of an arbitral award is not enough to set it aside, unless the delay is undue, unexplained and demonstrably prejudicial to the parties. ...

'Karta' Personally Liable if HUF is Unable to Satisfy Arbitral Award: Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court has declared that a 'Karta' has a personal and unlimited liability for satisfying unpaid arbitral dues of a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF), thereby enabling creditors to proceed against the Karta's private assets without a separate decree.In a major boost for award creditors, the Bench of Justice R.I Chagla has held that the "seat court" retains the jurisdiction to execute an arbitral award and provide interim relief, even if the judgment debtor's assets are situated outside...

Statutory Bar Under Commercial Courts Act Operates As Inherent Subject Matter Limitation In Arbitration: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has held that the statutory bar in the Commercial Courts Act operates as an inherent subject-matter bar in arbitration related proceedings and cannot be waived by consent or conduct of the parties, even if no objection is raised before the court of first instance.Justices Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya and Supratim Bhattacharya made the observation on January 13, while deciding an appeal filed by Siddharta Chandra challenging an order passed by the District Judge, Hooghly,...

Delhi-Mumbai Expressway: NHAI Can Move to End Expressway Contract After Delhi High Court Lifts Restraining Order

The Delhi High Court, while hearing an appeal under Section 37(1)(b), has observed that an injunction granted by the Section 9 (power to grant interim measures) court ought not to have been granted. This injunction had restrained the National Highway Authorities of India (NHAI) from proceeding in furtherance of its notice of intention to terminate, dated 23.12.2025.Section 37(1)(b) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (the Act), provides a right to appeal to the competent court against...

Reference to Arbitration Requires Independent Application, Cannot be Inferred from Plea to Reject Plaint: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court recently rejected a Master's summons application filed by M/s Samman Capital Limited, that sought stay of a commercial suit on the grounds of an existing arbitration clause.Master's summons under the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) refers to a court order (summons) compelling a party to appear, often to provide documents or information relevant to an insolvency proceeding or specific case issues.The Court emphasised that for a dispute to be referred to arbitration, the law...