Constitutional Law – Legislative Competence – Concurrent List – Subject of Arbitration falls under Entry 13 of List III – State Legislature can enact law on arbitration subject to President's assent – State Act reserved for and received President's assent prevails over Central law – State Act within legislative competence of State Legislature [Paras 1-9]...
Insolvency and Bankruptcy – Moratorium – Exclusion of Time – Section 60(6) of the IBC provides for the exclusion of the entire period during which the moratorium was in force in respect of a corporate debtor in regard to a proceeding as contemplated therein – Proceedings by the corporate debtor during the moratorium period are also covered under this exclusion – Inter...
Arbitration – Group of Companies Doctrine – Non-signatory company within a group of companies bound by arbitration agreement – Factors considered: mutual intent of the parties, relationship of non-signatory to signatory, commonality of subject matter, composite nature of transaction, and performance of contract – Non-signatories may be bound on consensual theory (agency, as...
Arbitration – Interim Measures – Scope of Section 37 – The appeals challenge the High Court's interim orders issued in the context of Section 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, which should focus on examining the Commercial Court's decision regarding interim relief under Section 9. The High Court's orders directed a status report on the FIR, summoned th...
Arbitration – Interim Measures – Deposit of Rental Amounts: The Supreme Court held that the arbitral tribunal should not have directed the appellant to deposit 100% of the rental amount due for the period between March 2020 and December 2021 by way of interim measures when there was a serious dispute regarding the liability of rental payments during the Covid-19 pandemic under the forc...
Arbitration – Pre-deposit Requirement – Section 19 of MSMED Act: The court held that the pre-deposit of 75% of the awarded amount under Section 19 of the MSMED Act is a mandatory requirement when challenging an arbitral award under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act. The court overruled the High Court's decision that treated the pre-deposit requirement as directory ...
Arbitration – Jurisdiction – Section 11(6) – Application for appointment of arbitrator cannot be made in any High Court irrespective of its territorial jurisdiction – Section 11(6) must be harmoniously read with Section 2(1)(e) – High Court must have supervisory jurisdiction over a court which would have jurisdiction under Section 2(1)(e) – [Paras 27-28].
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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 – 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 Law – Jurisdiction of High Court – Section 37 of the Arbitration Act – The Supreme Court held that the High Court exceeded its jurisdiction under Section 37 of the Arbitration Act by entering into the merits of the claim and setting aside the award passed by the arbitrator and the order passed by the Additional District Judge – The High Court had a limited scope...