Party Cannot Indirectly Secure Unilateral Arbitrator Appointment By Choosing Arbitration Institution: Calcutta HC

The Calcutta High Court has recently held that a party interested in the outcome of an arbitration dispute cannot indirectly control the appointment of a sole arbitrator by unilaterally approaching an arbitration institution of its own choosing. “The law does not permit such a stratagem. The prohibition engrafted by Section 12(5) and the judicial decisions thereunder is directed not merely at the formal act of appointing an arbitrator, but at the substance of the process, the unilateral control...

Calcutta High Court Upholds Rejection Of Suit For Skipping Mediation Under Commercial Courts Act

The Calcutta High Court on 5 May dismissed the appeal filed by Indian Explosives Pvt. Ltd., upholding the order rejecting its suit for non-compliance with Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015. A Division Bench of Justices Debangsu Basak and Md. Shabbar Rashidi held that courts cannot permit parties to bypass the mandatory pre-institution mediation requirement on vague or unsupported claims of urgency, and that a dispensation once granted can be revisited where the circumstances...

Calcutta High Court Sets Aside Temporary Injunction In Copyright Dispute As Suit Was Filed As Declaratory Suit

The Calcutta High Court has recently set aside an interim injunction granted without hearing the publishers in a dispute over authorship of two chapters in a Chemistry textbook, holding that the plaintiff's suit could not be entertained as an ordinary declaratory action since its core claim arose from alleged copyright rights. A division bench of Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya and Justice Biswaroop Chowdhury held, “The foundation of the suit is comprised of rights flowing from the Copyright...

Vague Or Ambiguous Arbitration Notice Cannot Validly Commence Arbitral Proceedings: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has recently held that arbitral proceedings cannot be validly commenced on the basis of a vague or ambiguous invocation notice that fails to clearly identify the arbitration agreement or clause relied upon, or is not shown to have been received by the opposing party. Justice Gaurang Kanth held, “The Section 21 notice is not a mere procedural formality, rather it is a jurisdictional prerequisite that marks the very commencement of arbitration proceedings.”He added,...

Pending IBC Proceedings Do Not Bar Arbitration Referral: Calcutta HC In SREI-Orissa Steel Dispute

The Calcutta High Court has referred a dispute between SREI group entities and Orissa Steel Expressway Private Limited to arbitration. It held that objections based on pending insolvency proceedings, allegations of fraud, and the status of a non-signatory claimant must be decided by the arbitral tribunal, not at the stage of appointing an arbitrator. “Thus, the question of arbitrability of the disputes and supremacy of IBC over the arbitral proceeding, will have to be decided by the learned...

Participation In Arbitration Cannot Validate Tribunal Not Constituted As Per Law: Calcutta High Court

Participation in arbitration proceedings cannot validate proceedings before a tribunal that was not constituted in accordance with law, the Calcutta High Court has held while setting aside an arbitral award in a dispute between Tata Steel Limited and MSP Sponge Iron Limited. “The participation of the petitioner before a forum which was not constituted as per law and did not have the jurisdiction to decide the dispute is inconsequential. A party who cannot act as an arbitrator, cannot also...

Calcutta High Court Quashes PNB Fraud Classification Against Visa Power Ltd For Breach Of Natural Justice

On 7 May, the Calcutta High Court quashed Punjab National Bank's decision classifying the loan account of Visa Power Ltd and its promoters, including Vikas Agarwal and Vishambhar Saran, as “fraud” for reporting to the Reserve Bank of India.Justice Krishna Rao set aside the show cause notice dated 25 October 2023 and the fraud classification order dated 9 August 2024, under which the account had been reported as fraud on 16 July 2024, noting that the bank failed to independently examine the...

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...

NCLT Proceedings Time Excludable Under Section 14 Limitation Act: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court on 6 May held that the time spent prosecuting insolvency proceedings before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) is liable to be excluded under Section 14 of the Limitation Act, 1963, even where a Section 9 application under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) is rejected on the ground of pre-existing dispute. Justice Aniruddha Roy allowed a commercial suit filed by Jones Lang LaSalle Property Consultants (India) Pvt Ltd against M. A. Leasing and...

Calcutta High Court Sets Aside Rejection of ARS Steels' Plea To Cancel Rival TMT Bar Design Registration

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday set aside an order of the Deputy Controller of Patents and Designs rejecting ARS Steels and Alloy International Private Limited's application to cancel the registered design of a double “XX-Rib” pattern on construction rods held by Souvik Steels Private Limited. Holding the order unsustainable, the court said the Controller's finding that there was “no scope of enquiry” into similar products already being available in the market was “perverse.” Justice Ravi...

Calcutta High Court Says Vodafone Needs IPRS Licence To Use Songs As Caller Tunes

The Calcutta High Court on Friday held that Vodafone Idea Limited cannot commercially exploit the underlying musical and literary works embedded in sound recordings used for caller tunes and ringtones without obtaining permission from the Indian Performing Right Society Limited (IPRS). IPRS is a copyright society that manages copyright licences for musical and literary works on behalf of rights holders. The court said Vodafone's arrangements with sound recording companies such as Saregama...

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...