Landmark Judgments

Where a request under Section 33 of the Arbitration Act is formally made and disposed of by the tribunal, limitation under Section 34(3) runs from that disposal, whether…

Arbitration ActArbitrationLimitationSection 34(3) Arbitration Act

A High Court should not, under Articles 226 and 227, interpret the contract and set aside an arbitrator's Section 16 order rejecting a stamping objection, because…

Arbitration ActConstitutionArbitrationSection 16 competence-competenceWrit jurisdiction

An application under Section 29A(5) to extend an arbitrator's mandate is maintainable even after the mandate has expired and an award has been made; that award is…

Arbitration ActArbitrationSection 29AExtension of arbitral mandate

A court hearing a challenge under Sections 34 and 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 has a limited power to modify an arbitral award, exercisable only in…

Arbitration ActConstitutionArbitrationSection 34Modification of award

Equal treatment under Section 18 applies to the appointment of arbitrators; unilateral appointment of a sole arbitrator, or compelling the other party to choose from a…

Arbitration ActConstitutionUnilateral appointment of arbitratorsEqual treatment of partiesIndependence and impartiality

A full and final settlement does not end the arbitration agreement; a plea of accord and satisfaction is for the arbitral tribunal, and the referral court under Section…

Arbitration ActAccord and satisfactionSection 11 referralCompetence-competence

A seven-judge bench held that an unstamped or insufficiently stamped agreement is inadmissible in evidence but not void, and that objections about stamping are for the…

Arbitration ActContract ActArbitration agreementStamp dutyCompetence-competence

The group of companies doctrine is valid in Indian arbitration law and can bind a non-signatory group company where the parties' mutual intention shows it, but it cannot…

Arbitration ActGroup of companies doctrineNon-signatories to arbitrationClaiming through or under

By majority, an arbitration agreement in an instrument chargeable with stamp duty that is unstamped or insufficiently stamped does not exist in law and cannot be acted…

Arbitration ActContract ActUnstamped arbitration agreementIndian Stamp ActSection 11(6A)

An Emergency Arbitrator's interim award under institutional rules agreed by the parties is an order under Section 17(1) of the Arbitration Act, enforceable under Section…

Arbitration ActCPCEmergency arbitrationSection 17 Arbitration ActParty autonomy

The Court laid down a four-fold test for non-arbitrability, overruled Himangni Enterprises to hold landlord-tenant disputes under the Transfer of Property Act…

Arbitration ActArbitrabilitySection 11 referralLandlord-tenant disputes

Designating a seat of arbitration works as an exclusive jurisdiction clause for the courts at the seat; an order returning a Section 34 petition is not appealable under…

Arbitration ActCommercial Courts ActSeat of arbitrationSeat and venueExclusive jurisdiction

A party, or its official, interested in the outcome of a dispute cannot unilaterally appoint a sole arbitrator; the Court annulled the respondent's appointment and…

Arbitration ActAppointment of arbitratorUnilateral appointmentIndependence and impartiality

A landlord's suit for eviction and arrears of rent was held triable by the Civil Court, not by an arbitrator, even though the premises were exempt from the Delhi rent…

Arbitration ActArbitrabilitySection 8 referenceEviction and tenancy disputes

A Managing Director who has become ineligible under Section 12(5) of the Arbitration Act read with the Seventh Schedule to act as arbitrator cannot nominate another…

Arbitration ActArbitrator ineligibilityAppointment of arbitratorSeventh Schedule

Under Section 45 of the Arbitration Act, a person claiming through or under a party, including a non-signatory in exceptional cases of composite transactions, may be…

Arbitration ActInternational commercial arbitrationSection 45 Arbitration ActNon-signatories to arbitration agreement

The Constitution Bench held that Part I of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 applies only to arbitrations seated in India, overruled Bhatia International and…

Arbitration ActSeat of arbitrationTerritoriality principlePart I Arbitration Act

A suit to enforce a mortgage by sale is an action in rem that only a court may decide, so it cannot be referred to arbitration under Section 8 even though the parties…

Arbitration ActCPCArbitrabilityRights in rem and in personamSection 8 reference

A civil court may refuse to refer a dispute to arbitration under Section 8 of the 1996 Act where it involves serious allegations of fraud needing detailed evidence; the…

Arbitration ActArbitrability of fraudSection 8 Arbitration ActReference to arbitration

Following Bhatia International, Part I of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, including Section 34, applies to a foreign award unless excluded by agreement, so…

Arbitration ActForeign awardsPart I of the Arbitration ActSection 34