Arbitration Law – Termination of Mandate – Section 12(5) of the Arbitration Act – The Supreme Court held that the originally constituted Arbitral Tribunal, a Stationery Purchase Committee comprising officers of the respondent, had lost its mandate by operation of law under Section 12(5) read with the Seventh Schedule of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 – A fresh a...
Arbitration – Remittal to Arbitrator – Section 34(4) of Arbitration and Conciliation Act – Court's discretion to remit matter to arbitrator to fill gaps in reasoning or provide additional reasons – Not obligatory to remit in cases of patent illegality or absence of findings on contentious issues – High Court dismissed motion for remittal as arbitral award lacked f...
Arbitration Law – Remand by Appellate Court – The Division Bench's power to remand under Section 37(1)(c) of the Arbitration Act – Held that the Division Bench was correct in remanding the matter for reconsideration as the Single Judge did not address several issues and provided inadequate reasoning – Appellate court can remand for fresh consideration when the lower cou...
Arbitration – Jurisdiction of Arbitrator – Lease and dealership agreements are distinct – Arbitration clause in dealership agreement invoked for dispute – Arbitrator appointed under dealership agreement adjudicated lease agreement issues – Held, arbitrator exceeded jurisdiction – Award on lease rent and term set aside [Paras 1-61].
Contractual Inter...
Arbitration – Interpretation of contract clause – Petitioner challenged the interpretation of Clause XII of the agreement by the learned Arbitrator – Reliance on a prior decision of the Supreme Court - Argument that the decision was ignored by the Courts dealing with remedies under Sections 34 and 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 – Examining the relevant cla...
Arbitration – Maintainability of Fresh Reference – High Court quashed Tribunal's order dismissing reference as not maintainable – Tribunal held reference not maintainable since dispute already adjudicated by Housing Commissioner – High Court's referral to Housing Commissioner was a consent order – Housing Commissioner’s award attained finality as it was ...
Arbitration Law – Limitation Period – Applicability to Section 11(6) Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 – The Supreme Court examined the applicability of the Limitation Act, 1963 to applications for appointment of arbitrator under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The Court clarified the distinction between the limitation for filing a Section 11(6) ...
Arbitration – Appointment of Arbitrator – Insufficient Stamping – The Supreme Court held that the jurisdiction to adjudicate issues at the pre-appointment stage of an arbitrator is limited to taking a prima facie view on the existence of the arbitration agreement. Issues of arbitrability and validity, including concerns of insufficient stamping, should be referred to arbitration ...
Arbitration – Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards – Conflict of Interest and Bias – challenge against enforcement of a foreign arbitral award on grounds of arbitrator's alleged bias and conflict of interest under Section 48 of the Indian Arbitration Act. The appellants contended that the presiding arbitrator had failed to disclose conflicts of interest, impacting his impar...
Arbitration Law – Appellate Jurisdiction – Distinction – High Court erroneously acted as an appellate forum in a regular civil suit, rather than under the limited scope of Section 37 of the Arbitration Act – District Judge rightly rejected the petition under Section 34, finding no basis for interfering with the arbitral award – High Court's judgment set aside as i...