Why Meaningful Costs Adjudication Is Essential For Promoting Arbitration In India

Indian courts continue to grapple with an enormous and ever-increasing docket of cases. India's economic aspirations and its ambition to remain one of the world's fastest-growing economies are inextricably linked to the existence of a robust, efficient and credible dispute resolution framework. Investors and entrepreneurs, whether domestic or foreign, seek assurance that commercial disputes, will be resolved fairly, expeditiously and at a reasonable cost. The only viable alternative forum which...

Not Every Procedural Irregularity Vitiates An Arbitral Award: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court at Lucknow has recently held that not every procedural irregularity would vitiate an arbitral award or justify interference under Sections 34 or 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Jaspreet Singh made the ruling in a dispute between the U.P. State Highways Authority and the...

Last In Line, First To Bleed: How Arbitration Fails Sub Contractors

Arbitration was marketed as faster, cheaper, more flexible than courts, and tailor‑made for commercial players. But, for sub‑contractors, the reality is brutally different. Escalating fees, narrow judicial review and structural barriers to even getting a fair hearing often turn arbitration into a high‑risk gamble rather than an effective remedy, leaving them in a worse position than if...

Supreme Court's 'Delhi Metro' Judgment Caused Extensive Damage To Arbitration In India: Justice Ujjal Bhuyan

The Supreme Court's 2024 Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. v. Delhi Airport Metro Express Pvt. Ltd. judgment has caused "the most extensive damage to arbitration in India" and undermined the country's efforts to emerge as a global arbitration hub, Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said on Saturday, expressing grave concern over increasing judicial interference in arbitral...

Supreme Court Rescues Arbitration Limitation Clock From Maintainability Trap

A Procedural Nightmare Finally Laid to RestAsk any arbitration practitioner who has managed a post-award correction under Section 33 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, and they will describe the same dilemma. A Section 33 application has been filed. The tribunal is considering it. Limitation under Section 34(3) is ticking. Does the party wait for the tribunal to dispose of the application, or does it simultaneously file a Section 34(1) petition in court, purely as a safeguard against...

Words Are Not Enough: Every Clause Containing 'Arbitration' Is Not An Arbitration Agreement

Commercial Contracts are the reflection of the trust parties place in a legal framework to protect their interests. When this trust of parties breaks down, among the many clauses of the commercial agreement ('agreement'), the dispute resolution clause occupies a position of singular importance. In recent times, Arbitration has emerged as one of the most preferred mechanisms owing to its flexibility, confidentiality, procedural efficiency, and party-driven nature. The result has been the...

Arbitration | Article 227 Can't Be Ordinarily Invoked To Challenge Rejection Of S.16 Application By Arbitral Tribunal : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (July 14) held that it is impermissible for the High Court to ordinarily interfere with, while exercising its supervisory jurisdiction, the decision of an Arbitral Tribunal rejecting the application under Section 16 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, challenging the jurisdiction of the tribunal.“…we hold that the High Court was not justified in...

Institution-Routed, Not Institution-Neutral: Arbitration's Quiet Return To Unilateral Control

There is a deeply troubling pattern emerging in India, particularly in the sphere of financial services arbitration, which, after appearing in several such matters over the past few months, I can no longer remain silent about.For nearly a decade, Indian arbitration jurisprudence has steadily evolved toward one foundational principle: a party interested in the outcome of a dispute cannot...

Whether Time Spent In Mediation Be Excluded While Computing Limitation For Filing Written Statement? Delhi High Court Larger Bench To Decide

The Delhi High Court has referred to a larger Bench the question of whether the time spent by parties in mediation should be excluded while computing the limitation period prescribed for filing a written statement or replication under the Delhi High Court (Original Side) Rules, 2018. [2026 LiveLaw (Del) 612]Justice Subramonium Prasad noted the existence of conflicting judicial opinions on...

MSME Council Award Passed Without Terminating Conciliation & Following Arbitral Procedure Is A Nullity: Chhattisgarh High Court

The Chhattisgarh High Court has held that an order passed by a Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council (MSEFC) without formally terminating conciliation proceedings and without conducting arbitration in accordance with the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, is a nullity in the eyes of law. Such an order can be challenged even at the execution stage as a...

Losing Side Finally Gets To Fight Back: How Supreme Court Rewrote Rules On Interim Relief In Arbitration

Imagine you have just lost arbitration. The award sits on the table, and the other side is already moving to enforce it. You believe the award is wrong – perhaps it was procured through fraud, or perhaps the arbitrator overlooked a decisive point of law. While you challenge the award under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, a process that can take years, the...

Plea Of Private Partition Pursuant To Arbitral Award Raises Triable Issue; Plaint Cannot Be Rejected Under Order VII Rule 11 CPC: J&K&L High Court

The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has held that where a party specifically pleads that a property was partitioned privately pursuant to an arbitral award, the question whether such partition actually took place becomes a triable issue and cannot be decided while considering an application for rejection of plaint under Order VII Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure.The Court...