Delhi High Court Upholds Arbitral Award Allowing BSNL's 12.63 Crores Counterclaim In Optical Fibre Cable Dispute

The Delhi High Court refused to interfere with an arbitral award allowing counterclaims to BSNL amounting to Rs. 12.63 crores in a dispute arising out of supply of optical fibre cables, holding that the supplier remained bound by its assurance regarding the life of the cables A single bench of Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar observed that when the supplier had assured that the life of the cables supplied by it was 32.8 years, which was beyond the tender requirement of 20 years then it was...

Himachal Pradesh High Court Stays Further Arbitration Over Construction Project At IIT Mandi

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has held that further proceedings in an ongoing arbitration concerning a construction project involving the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi and the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) shall remain stayed while it examines IIT Mandi's plea to be impleaded in the dispute arising from an arbitral award of Rs 3,79,52,929. The matter was heard on March 16, 2026, by a Division Bench of Chief Justice G.S. Sandhawalia and Justice Bipin C. Negi. The dispute...

Failure To Deny Pleadings, No Cross-Examination: Delhi High Court Upholds Arbitral Award Against Proto Developers

The Delhi High Court has upheld an arbitral award directing Proto Developers and Technologies Ltd. to pay over Rs 12 crore to Antriksh Realtech Pvt. Ltd., holding that where a party fails to specifically deny a claim and does not cross-examine the opposing witness on a crucial issue, the arbitral tribunal is entitled to treat the evidence as unrebutted and the claim as established.Rejecting Proto Developers' challenge to the Rs 9-crore counterclaim, the Court noted that the tribunal treated the...

Delhi High Court Refers Legends League Cricket Media Rights Dispute Between Jiostar And Absolute Legends To Mediation

The Delhi High Court refrained from granting interim relief to Jiostar India Pvt. Ltd. in its dispute with Absolute Legends Sports Pvt. Ltd., the company that runs the Legends League Cricket tournament, over media and commercial rights linked to the league. A single-judge bench of Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar instead asked the parties to attempt a settlement through mediation after both the parties agreed to the same. "Acceding to the same, the matter is referred to Delhi High Court...

Delhi High Court Appoints Arbitrator Though Arbitration Clause in Offers Not Repeated in Work Orders

The Delhi High Court has held that the arbitration clause contained in techno-commercial offers formed part of the contract between Moonwalk Infra Projects Private Limited and Onstruq Interlayer Private Limited, even though the subsequent work orders did not repeat the clause, since the work orders were issued with reference to and on the basis of those offers. A Single Bench of Justice Jasmeet Singh observed that “the Work Orders do not stand in isolation but are intrinsically linked to and...

Digitally Executed Agreements Valid If Parties Acted Upon Them: Punjab & Haryana High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on 9 March, held that digitally executed agreements are valid even in the absence of physical signatures where the parties have acted upon them and do not dispute their existence. A Single Bench of Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri appointed Justice B.S. Walia, former Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, as the sole arbitrator to adjudicate disputes between Delhivery Limited and Smartpaddle Technology Private Limited. The Bench observed: “It is not...

Deposit Of Arbitral Award Amount In Court Stops Post-Award Interest: Himachal Pradesh High Court

The Himachal Pradesh High Court on 5 March held that deposit of the entire arbitral award amount in the court registry amounts to payment to the decree-holder, and liability to pay post-award interest ceases from the date of deposit. A Bench of Justice Romesh Verma set aside an execution order against the Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd. (HPPCL) in its dispute with Arvind Kumar Bansal. He held: “the deposit of award amount in the Court amounts to payment to the credit of the decree...

Gujarat High Court Rejects Delayed Challenge To Arbitral Award Over No Plea Of Non-Delivery Of Signed Copy

The Gujarat High Court recently observed that a party challenging an arbitral award cannot seek to overcome limitation by claiming that it came to know of the award during execution proceedings, if its Section 34 application does not contain a clear and categorical plea that the signed copy of the award had never been delivered to it as required under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act. A division bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice D.N. Ray made the observation while dismissing...

Bombay High Court Dismisses NHAI Appeal Against Enhanced Compensation For Petrol Pump Land Acquisition

The Bombay High Court has dismissed the National Highways Authority of India's (NHAI) appeal, finding no patent illegality in the arbitral award enhancing compensation to a petrol pump owner after partial acquisition of land for highway expansion resulted in loss of business access. Justice Arun R. Pednekar upheld an arbitral award revising land compensation from Rs 595 to Rs 1,190 per square metre and granting compensation for loss of income, easementary rights, and business impact, while...

Court Can Examine Arbitrator Appointment In Arbitral Award Challenge Even If Not Pleaded: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has reiterated that courts can examine the validity of an arbitrator's appointment even if the issue was not specifically pleaded in a challenge under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, where the defect goes to the root of the arbitral tribunal's jurisdiction. Setting aside a 2016 arbitral award, the Single Bench of Justice N. Anand Venkatesh held that the tribunal lacked inherent jurisdiction since the sole arbitrator, an official of Indian Oil...

Bombay High Court Says Non-Signatory Mumbai Cricket Association Bound By Arbitration Clause In T20 Mumbai League Dispute

The Bombay High Court on Monday referred to arbitration a dispute over participation rights in the T20 Mumbai League between Jupicos Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. and league operator Probability Sports (India) Pvt. Ltd. The dispute relates to Jupicos' right to continue participating in the league through its team Shivaji Park Lions. The Court held that the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), under whose aegis the league is conducted, is bound by the arbitration agreement even though it is not a...

Financial Pressure Alone Cannot Undo Insurance Settlement Without Proof Of Duress By Insurer: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Monday observed that a discharge voucher accepting an insurance settlement cannot be invalidated merely because the insured signed it under financial pressure, unless the insurer contributed to the alleged coercion, duress, or undue influence.Refusing to reopen a fire-insurance compensation dispute between Supermint Exports Pvt Ltd and New India Assurance Company Ltd, the Court upheld an arbitral award rejecting the company's attempt to claim additional compensation after...