The landmark decision of the Supreme Court of India in Perkins Eastman Architects DPC & v. HSCC (India) Ltd. has often been praised for putting an end to the rampant practice of unilateral appointments of arbitrators and upholding the principles of impartiality and neutrality in arbitral proceedings (see here and here). The decision was also one of the first instances in Indian arbitration...
Supreme Court Clarifies the Scope of Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996
[Kuberinder Bajaj is a Judicial Law Clerk at the Delhi High Court] The Supreme Court, in its recent judgment in SBI General Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Krish Spinning, has comprehensively explained the scope and standard of judicial scrutiny while adjudicating an application under section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (“the Act”). The Court retraced the existing jurisprudence on the...
Timeline of filing Application under Section 29A for Extension of Time
[Megha Shaw is an advocate practising in the Supreme Court of India and Sachdev Sharma is a law graduate of NUJS, Kolkata] In Rohan Builders (India) Private Limited v. Berger Paints India Limited (12 September 2024), a division bench of the Supreme Court of India decided on whether an application for extension of time under section 29A of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (the “A & C...
Can an Exclusive Jurisdiction Clause Designate Seat?
[Shaneen Parikh is the Partner and Head of International Arbitration at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas. Amoga Krishnan is a Senior Associate at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas] Can an exclusive jurisdiction clause be treated as one which also determines the seat of arbitration? In May 2024, the Delhi High Court (“DHC”) in Kings Chariot v. Tarun Wadhwa ruled in the negative. This post is a comment on the...
Clarifying “Unconditional” Withdrawals: When Does Interest on Awarded Amounts Truly Stop?
[Ashish Dholakia is a Senior Advocate at the Delhi High Court, Rohan Chawla is an Advocate at the Delhi High Court, and Ria Bansal is a 4th-year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) student at Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law] The 2015 amendments to the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 (‘A&C Act’) dramatically changed the arbitration regime in India. A challenge to an award under section...
Flawed Foundations: Challenging the Right of Ineligible Arbitrators to Nominate
[Abhishek Gupta is a fourth year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) student at National Law University, Delhi] In arbitration, the interplay between party autonomy and procedural fairness often presents complex legal challenges. A key issue arises when considering whether an ineligible arbitrator should have the authority to nominate an arbitrator. This question places party autonomy, a fundamental principle of...
Assignment and Arbitration Agreements: Assignee’s “Burden” to Arbitrate
[Chiranth Mukunda is a 2nd Year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) Student at National Law School of India University, Bengaluru] In DLF Limited v. PNB Housing Finance Ltd (22 March 2024), while considering a petition under section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 ( A&C Act), the Delhi High Court observed that an assignee would be bound by the arbitration agreement in a claim brought by the...
The Debate Over Supreme Court’s Curative Intervention in Arbitration
[Madhav Goel and Anjali Sharma are researchers at the TrustBridge Rule of Law Foundation] In April 2024, the Supreme Court of India in Delhi Metro Rail Corporation v. Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Limited (‘DMRC v. DAMEPL’) overturned an arbitral award of nearly Rs. 8,000 cr against the DMRC which was to be paid to DAMEPL, a joint venture between Reliance Infrastructure Limited and...
Revisiting the ‘Settled’ Law on MSMED and Arbitration Acts: An Alternative Way Forward
[Ameya Sharma and Tassawar Ali are second-year students pursuing B.A., LL.B (Hons.) from NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad] In Gujarat State Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd. v. Mahakali Foods Pvt. Ltd., the Supreme Court settled the conflict between the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 [“MSMED Act”] and the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 [“A&C Act”]. It was...
The DMRC Case – Assessing Exercise of Curative Jurisdiction in Annulment of Arbitral Award
[Prince Todi is an Associate at AZB & Partners, Mumbai. Yavipriya Gupta is an Advocate practising at the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court of India] Perhaps, a pro-arbitration jurisdiction can be characterized as one having consistent laws, with a focus on expeditious adjudication of disputes, minimal judicial intervention, and a presence of strong enforcement framework aimed at...
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