MSME Council Justified In Proceeding To Arbitration Without Fresh Notice When Party Skips Conciliation: Madhya Pradesh HC

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that where a party, despite being granted an opportunity, fails to file a reply and declines to participate in conciliation proceedings, the MSME Facilitation Council is justified in proceeding to arbitration without issuing a separate notice. A Division Bench of Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Pradeep Mittal observed, “Once the petitioner had declared that he was interested in participating in the conciliation proceedings, the Facilitation Council had no...

MP High Court Restores Suit, Says Bar On Unregistered Partnerships Not Applicable As Claim Not Made As Partner

The Madhya Pradesh High Court at Jabalpur has set aside a trial court order rejecting a suit at the threshold, holding that the bar on suits by unregistered firms could not be invoked where the plaintiff was seeking declaration of his rights in the land on the basis of the money he had invested. A single judge bench of Justice Deepak Khot observed, "In fact, it is a case of the appellant that the appellant has invested money with defendants, who are said to be partners in the partnership firm...

Apostilled Arbitral Awards From Hague Convention Signatory Countries Enforceable If Authenticity Undisputed: Madhya Pradesh HC

The Madhya Pradesh High Court at Indore has held that apostilled arbitral award copies (documents certified as genuine in countries with which India has reciprocal recognition of such authentication) are valid for enforcement where their authenticity is undisputed, while declaring a Texas-seated foreign award of USD 623,169.37 in favour of PerkinElmer US LLC enforceable. Rejecting objections by Ilishan Biotech Private Limited on non-production of original documents, a single-judge bench of...

Supervisory Jurisdiction Of High Court Can Be Invoked Against Refusal To Reject Plaint In Commercial Suits: MP High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has recently held that a party can invoke the supervisory jurisdiction of the High Court (Article 227 of the Constitution) to challenge a Commercial Court's refusal to reject a plaint at the threshold, even where no appeal or revision lies against such an order.The court clarified that although statutory remedies are barred under the Commercial Courts Act, the High Court's supervisory jurisdiction remains available in limited cases, particularly where the impugned...

Limitation To Challenge Arbitral Award Begins On Delivery Of Signed Award Copy To Party: Madhya Pradesh HC

The Madhya Pradesh High Court at Indore has held that the limitation period for challenging an arbitral award begins only from the date on which a signed copy of the award is delivered to the party, setting aside a Commercial Court order that had dismissed a challenge as time-barred.A division bench of Justice Vijay Kumar Shukla and Justice Alok Awasthi ruled that Section 34(3) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 must be read together with Section 31(5), which mandates delivery of a...

Cheque Bounce Case Cannot Be Dismissed For Want Of Service Report; MP High Court Frames Guidelines On Presumption Of Service

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that non-production of a service report or postal track report cannot by itself be a ground to dismiss a complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act at the threshold, particularly when the complainant asserts that the statutory notice was duly dispatched to the correct address of the accused. Justice Himanshu Joshi observed that once a notice is properly addressed, prepaid, and sent by registered post, a presumption of service arises...

MP High Court Pulls Up MPRTC For Delay In Paying Arbitral Award, Notes ₹1.5 Crore Grew To ₹6 Crore With Interest

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has recently pulled up the Madhya Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (MPRTC) for delaying payment of a Rs 1.5-crore arbitral award for years, observing that the liability has now escalated to more than Rs 6 crore due to accumulated interest, resulting in “misuse and wastage of public money.” Setting aside an order of the executing court that had dismissed the execution proceedings for non-payment of process fee, a Division Bench of Justices Vivek Rusia and Pradeep...

Borrower Cannot Redeem Mortgaged Property After Sale Certificate Under Pre-2016 SARFAESI: Madhya Pradesh HC

Holding that a borrower cannot reclaim mortgaged property after issuance of a sale certificate under the unamended SARFAESI regime, the Jabalpur Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court dismissed writ petitions challenging auction proceedings initiated by Bank of India. A Division Bench of Justices Vivek Rusia and Pradeep Mittal clarified that the equitable principle of “once a mortgage, always a mortgage” operates only until the right of redemption is lawfully extinguished.The case arose from...

Technical Member Mandatory: Madhya Pradesh High Court Sets Aside REAT Order Passed By Two-Member Bench

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has recently set aside an order of the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal after finding that it was passed by an improperly constituted Bench. The court held that the Tribunal decided the case without the participation of a Technical Member, a requirement mandated by law. Such an order, it said, cannot stand. “As per the provisions of Section 45 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, the Appellate Tribunal must consist of the Chairman and two...

SARFAESI Act Does Not Mandate Resorting To Section 14 In Every Case Of Taking Possession: Madhya Pradesh High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that a secured creditor is not mandatorily required to invoke proceedings under Section 14 of the SARFAESI Act for taking physical possession of secured assets, and that possession can be lawfully taken directly under Section 13(4) read with Rule 8 of the Security Interest (Enforcement) Rules, 2002, where no resistance is offered by the borrower.A Division Bench comprising Justice Anand Pathak and Justice Pushpendra Yadav allowed a writ petition filed by...

Section 14 | Banks Can Take Possession Without Magistrate's Assistance Under SARFAESI: Madhya Pradesh High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Wednesday held that a secured creditor is not required to mandatorily approach the District Magistrate or Chief Metropolitan Magistrate under Section 14 of the SARFAESI Act before taking physical possession of secured assets, so long as the statutory requirements under Sections 13(2) and 13(4) are complied with. A Division Bench of Justice Anand Pathak and Justice Pushpendra Yadav set aside orders of the Debt Recovery Tribunal, Jabalpur, and the Debts Recovery...

MP High Court Sets Aside District Court Order Rejecting SAIL's Arbitration Challenge In Two Paragraphs

The Madhya Pradesh High Court at Jabalpur has set aside a district court order that rejected SAIL's objections to a Rs 1.54-crore arbitration award, with its reasoning confined to just two paragraphs. The High Court said such a dismissal, without dealing with the objections raised, cannot be sustained. Justice Vivek Jain, while ordering a fresh decision through a reasoned order observed, “Such a non-speaking order passed in course of proceedings under Section 34 cannot be upheld by this...