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Supreme Court Flags Failure Of New Arbitration Bill In Providing Statutory Appeal Against Arbitral Tribunals' Termination Orders
The Supreme Court criticised the new Arbitration and Conciliation Bill for failing to address the ambiguity regarding the relief against an arbitral tribunal terminating the proceedings, noting that the new Bill made no effort to remedy this gap in the law."It is indeed very sad to note that even after these many years, procedural issues such as the one involved in the case at hand, have continued to plague the arbitration regime of India. The Department of Legal Affairs has now, once again...
Non-Signatory Which Isn't A Veritable Party Cannot Invoke Arbitration Clause : Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on Tuesday (December 9) held that a non-signatory to an arbitration agreement cannot invoke the arbitration clause against a party with whom it shares no legal relationship and where there is no indication of any intention to bind the non-signatory to the main contract. A bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K.V. Viswanathan heard the matter, where the Respondent, admittedly a non-signatory to the primary contract between HPCL and AGC Networks Ltd., sought to invoke the...
If Arbitral Tribunal Terminates Proceedings For Not Paying Fees, Remedy Is To Seek Recall & Then Invoke S.14(2) : Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has held that an arbitral tribunal is legally empowered to terminate proceedings under Section 38(2) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 when a party fails to pay its share of the arbitrator's fees.Once such a termination occurs, the remedy available to the party is to seek the recall of the order before the Tribunal itself. If the recall application is dismissed, then the party has to approach the Court under Section 14(2).A bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice...
Supreme Court Stays Kerala HC Order Summoning Byju's Resolution Professional In Contempt Case Over Sale Of Subsidiaries
The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Kerala High Court's orders which had directed issuance of show-cause notices and directed Byju's Resolution Professional Shailendra Ajmera, GLAS Trust representative Sunil Thomas, and Ernst and Young Chairman Rajiv Memani to personally appear before the High Court in contempt proceedings over the sale of Byju's foreign subsidiaries Epic! Creations Inc. and Tangible Play Inc. “In the meantime, operation of the impugned order dated 21.11.2025 passed in IA No....
Supreme Court Refers 'Bharat Drilling' Judgment' To Larger Bench For Clarity Whether Prohibited Claims Bind Arbitral Tribunals
The Supreme Court on Friday referred its 2009 judgment in Bharat Drilling and Foundation Treatment Private Limited versus State of Jharkhand (2009) 16 SCC 705. to a larger bench, observing that the ruling has been repeatedly and incorrectly relied upon to dilute prohibitory clauses in government contracts. A bench of Justice P S Narasimha and Justice A S Chandurkar said the earlier decision is not an authority for the proposition that excepted or prohibited claim clauses bind only the...
Arbitration | Agreed Interest Rate Can't Be Later Challenged As Exorbitant; Arbitrator Cannot Overrride Contractual Rate : Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed appeals filed by BPL Limited against an arbitral award, upholding the enforcement of a 36% annual interest rate on outstanding dues owed to Morgan Securities and Credits Private Limited. The Court ruled that corporate entities cannot claim contractual terms are "unconscionable" after voluntarily agreeing to them ..“Once the parties by mutual consent agreed to a particular rate of interest to be charged and the same is included in the terms of the contract...
PSU Objects To International Arbitration Being Moved From Delhi To London; Supreme Court Questions Change Of Venue For Convenience
The Supreme Court on Wednesday heard a dispute between NMDC Steel Ltd, a Public Sector Undertaking of the Government of India and Italian company Danieli & C. Officine, regarding the shifting of the place of hearing of the international arbitration between them from Delhi to London.The bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice NK Singh was hearing a Special Leave Petition filed by NDMC Steel Ltd against the order of the Telangana High Court which...
Sandesara Settlement and Constitutional Perimeter Of Closure Of Criminal Cases
The Supreme Court's order dated 19 November 2025 in Hemant S. Hathi v. Central Bureau of Investigation [2025 Livelaw (SC) 1139] represents an extraordinary culmination of multiple criminal, regulatory and attachment proceedings arising from the affairs of the Sterling group. Acting on what it repeatedly describes as the “peculiar facts” of the case, the Court directed that all such proceedings be quashed upon deposit of a consolidated sum of ₹5100 crore.This belongs to a small category of cases...
Supreme Court Seeks Centre's Response On Plea Seeking GST Concession For Car Purchase By Persons With Disabilities
The Supreme Court recently issued notice on a petition filed by a person suffering visual impairment seeking that the government revive its GST Concession scheme for the purchase of cars by persons with orthopaedic disability and extend it to all Persons with Disabilities, irrespective of the nature of their disability.A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta passed the order, after hearing counsel for the petitioner, who argued that the Union has taken different stands before different...
Supreme Court Restores Property Of Corporate Debtor Attached Under PMLA To Successful Resolution Applicant
The Supreme Court recently reiterated that the objective of Section 8(8) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act(PMLA) is to ultimately restore any attached properties to the bonafide successful resolution application(SRA) who have a legitimate interest in it.Section 8(8) allows the Special Court to direct the Central Government to restore property that has been confiscated under the Act to a person or claimant who has a legitimate interest in it, upon conclusion of the trial. However, second...
Central Excise Exemption For Cotton Fabrics Not Available If Any Interlinked Process Uses Power : Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has held that manufacturers cannot claim central excise duty exemption for processed cotton fabrics if power is used at any stage of the manufacturing chain, even when the work is carried out through separate units. The Court restored a duty and penalty demand that had been set aside by the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT).To claim excise duty exemption for 'cotton fabrics' processed without the aid of power or steam, the manufacturing stages must be...