On 13 December 2023, a seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court rendered its verdict in In Re: The Interplay between arbitration agreements under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, and the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 (“In Re: The Interplay”) on the validity and enforceability of unstamped arbitration agreements. This issue had become a matter of some consternation for the arbitration community...
Stamping Out Uncertainty: Resolving the Conundrum of Unstamped Arbitration Agreements
[Hrishikesh Goswami and Aryan Soni are 3rd year students at the Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar] The enforceability of arbitration clauses within inadequately stamped agreements has been a longstanding matter of legal scrutiny, with divergent opinions and decisions from various courts, including the Supreme Court. However, a significant resolution was achieved on December 13, 2023...
SC Ruling on “Group of Companies” Doctrine: Viewed Through a Corporate Law Lens
On 6 December 2023, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court in Cox & Kings Ltd. v. SAP India Pvt. Ltd. recognized the “group of companies” doctrine as being part of Indian arbitration law. By virtue of this doctrine, “an arbitration agreement which is entered into by a company within a group of companies may bind non-signatory affiliates, if the circumstances are such as to demonstrate the...
Group of Companies Doctrine: Apex Court’s Landmark Ruling in Cox and Kings
[Manas Rohilla and Smruti Kulkarni are 3rd year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) students at the Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar] In the era of complex and multi-party transactions, the issue of whether non-signatories to an arbitration agreement can be bound by it has been largely relevant and contentious. On 6 December 2023, a five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court of India, in Cox...
Pre-Deposit Clauses in Arbitration Contracts: Analyzing the LombardiEngineering Case
[Suyash Pandey is a third year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) student at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore] Recently, the Supreme Court (‘SC’) in Lombardi Engineering Limited v. Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited has invoked Article 14 of the Constitution of India to test the validity of the pre-deposit arbitration agreement between Lombardi Engineering (‘LE’) and Uttarakhand Project...
SC Expands Scope of Enquiry under Section 11 of the Arbitration Act
[Raghav Bhatia is an advocate practising at the Supreme Court of India. He can be contacted at [email protected]] In April this year, the Supreme Court of India in NTPC Ltd. v. SPML Infra Ltd. has expanded the scope of enquiry to be exercised by a court while referring the disputes for arbitration under section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (‘Arbitration Act’). Background...
Unwinding and Rewinding the Clock: Revisiting Interim Reliefs under Section 9 of the Arbitration Act
[Sumit Chatterjee is an Advocate at Arista Chambers, Bangalore] Interims reliefs under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (“Act”) underwent a significant change following the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2015 (“2015 Amendment”). Under the Act, parties can approach the Court under section 9 of the Act to seek interim reliefs before, or during the arbitral proceedings, or...
Mediation Dreams, Legislative Realities: Analysing the Mediation Bill, 2023
[Akarshi Narain and Gayatri Kondapalli are 3rd-year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) students at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad] Mediation, as a mode of alternative dispute resolution, has increasingly been gaining traction in the international sphere. The Singapore Convention on Mediation, adopted in 2018, envisages cross-border enforcement of settlement agreements similar to that of arbitral awards...
Harmonious Dispute Resolution: Unveiling India’s Mediation Bill 2023
[Esha Rathi is a final year B.B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) student at Jindal Global Law School.] In a significant leap towards modernizing the legal framework and expediting the resolution of civil and commercial disputes, the Rajya Sabha recently passed the Mediation Bill 2023. This pioneering legislation marks a crucial shift, elevating mediation as the primary avenue for dispute resolution, prior to...
NCLAT’s Verdict Reshapes the Interplay Between Arbitration and Insolvency
[Mohammad Kaif is a final year student at Campus Law Centre, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi] The judgment of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) Chennai Bench in KK Ropeways Limited v. Billion Smiles Hospitality has significant implications for the interplay between arbitration and insolvency proceedings in India. The central question addressed by the NCLAT was whether a...
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