Madras High Court Directs Chennai Port Trust To Pay ₹1.21 Crore To X-Press Container Lines In Arbitration Dispute

The Madras High Court recently restored an arbitral award directing the Board of Trustees of the Port of Chennai to refund Rs.1,21,91,869 to X-Press Container Lines (UK) Ltd. in a dispute arising out of a berth reservation agreement and recovery of berth hire charges and penal levy, holding that the claim was within limitation in view of repeated acknowledgments of liability by the Port authorities. A Division Bench comprising Justices C.V. Karthikeyan and K. Kumaresh Babu allowed an appeal...

Bombay High Court Upholds Arbitral Award In Mandovi Bridge Dispute, Says Former Employee Arbitrator Not Proof Of Bias

The Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court has dismissed an appeal filed by the State of Goa challenging an arbitral award passed in favor of U.P. State Bridge Corporation Ltd., holding that an arbitral award could not be set aside merely on the ground that one of the arbitrators nominated by the contractor had served as the Managing Director and consultant of the corporation. Justice Suman Shyam further observed that in the absence of material demonstrating actual bias or likelihood of...

Delhi High Court Upholds Setting Aside Of Arbitral Award, Says Tribunal Rewrote Contract In JSW-GAIL Dispute

The Delhi High Court has dismissed an appeal filed by JSW Steel, formerly known as JSW Ispat Steel, and upheld the setting aside of an arbitral award passed in its favour, holding that the arbitral tribunal had rewritten the contract by applying the doctrine of business efficacy to convert fixed transportation charges into variable charges. A Division Bench of Justices C. Hari Shankar and Om Prakash Shukla observed, "Upon careful examination of the arbitral award, it is evident that the...

Bombay High Court Grants Interim Injunction To Asian Paints Against Use Of “ASIA TUFF” For Paint And Wall Putty

The Bombay High Court has granted an interim injunction in favour of Asian Paints Limited, restraining a rival firm from using the mark “ASIA TUFF” for cement paint and wall putty. In an order dated March 13, 2026, Justice Sharmila U. Deshmukh observed that the rival marks show deceptive visual as well as phonetic similarity, giving rise to a strong likelihood of consumer confusion. The litigation had initially covered several product labels. During the proceedings, the defendants Tarun Paints...

Bill Of Entry Amendment After Search Permissible Under Customs Act: Rajasthan High Court Upholds Relief To Ceramic Tableware

The Rajasthan High Court has recently observed that amendments in the Bill of Entry can be made even after a search is conducted, and such amendments cannot be refused merely because the error was detected by the department and not disclosed suo motu by the importer. A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma and Justice Sangeeta Sharma said that the purpose of Section 149 of the Customs Act, 1962 is to ensure proper assessment and that the power to allow amendment must be...

Civil Court Jurisdiction Not Ousted By Foreign-Seated Arbitration, Courts May Act To Prevent Abuse: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court recently reiterated that the jurisdiction of civil courts is not barred merely because arbitration is seated outside India but said that the power to restrain such proceedings must be exercised only in exceptional circumstances, refusing to stop arbitration initiated in London by Argo Coral Maritime Ltd. against SARR Freights Corporation and SARR Freights Limited. Relying on the top court's ruling in Engineering Projects (India) Limited Versus MSA Global LLC (Oman), Justice...

Appointment Of Arbitrator Under SEZ Act Lies With Central Government, Not High Court: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on Friday held that the High Court cannot invoke its powers under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, in disputes governed by the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005, where the statute vests the power to appoint an arbitrator with the Central Government and the requirements for the exercise of Section 11 jurisdiction are not satisfied.A coram of Justice S Manu rejected an arbitration request seeking the appointment of an arbitrator to resolve disputes...

Arbitration Act Allows Interim Relief Even After Arbitral Award Before Enforcement: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court recently held that courts possess wide powers under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act to grant interim measures, even after the arbitral award is passed but before its enforcement.A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V.M. partly allowed an appeal filed by three foreign companies against Emil Traders Private Limited. The appellants, foreign companies, had obtained an arbitral award against Emil Traders Private Limited...

Supreme Court Directs Court-Appointed Administrator To Seek Fresh Fee Quotes For Forensic Audit In Venus Petrochemicals Case

The Supreme Court recently directed the court-appointed administrator of Venus Petrochemicals (Bombay) Private Limited to obtain quotations from local forensic firms and appoint a suitable forensic auditor after the appellant company objected to the professional fee quoted by the auditor earlier appointed by the court. A bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice K. Vinod Chandran passed the order while disposing of an interlocutory application in a pending civil appeal. The grievance raised in...

Delhi High Court Upholds Arbitral Award In Favour Of GAIL In Dispute With Man Industries Over Delay In Pipe Supply

The Delhi High Court has recently dismissed a petition challenging an arbitral award passed in favour of GAIL (India) Limited, reiterating that the scope of interference under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act is limited. The court said it cannot re-appreciate evidence or disturb an award merely because another interpretation of the contract is possible, so long as the arbitrator's view is a plausible one. Justice Amit Bansal observed that the arbitral tribunal had interpreted...

Time Spent In Earlier Arbitration Must Be Excluded From Limitation After Award Set Aside: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court recently reiterated that when an arbitral award is set aside, the period between the commencement of the earlier arbitration and the date of the court's order is required to be excluded while computing limitation for initiating fresh arbitral proceedings. A single bench of Justice Sandeep V. Marne applied Section 43(4) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act and relied on Supreme Court rulings in Arif Azim Co. Ltd v Aptech Ltd and SBI General Insurance Company Ltd v Krish...

Bombay High Court Temporarily Restrains Legends League Cricket Operator From Using PPL Songs Without Licence

The Bombay High Court has granted urgent ad interim protection to Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL), restraining Absolute Legends Sports Private Limited, the owner and operator of Legends League Cricket (LLC), from publicly performing its copyrighted sound recordings during its cricket matches without obtaining a valid licence. Absolute Legends Sports conducts Legends League Cricket, a T20 tournament featuring retired international players, and the music licensing body moved the Court...