Category: Arbitration

Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — Clause 25 of Bill of Lading — Interpretation of “can” — A clause stating that disputes “can be settled by arbitration” does not create a mandatory arbitration agreement — It implies a future possibility and requires further agreement between the parties to refer disputes to arbitration, as opposed to a definitive commitment.

2026 INSC 384 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH NAGREEKA INDCON PRODUCTS PVT. LTD. Vs. CARGOCARE LOGISTICS (INDIA) PVT. LTD. ( Before : Sanjay Karol and Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh, JJ.…

Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — Section 36 — Enforcement of Consent Award — Construction of compromise deed and consent award — Promoters undertook to defend proceedings and ensure no liability recovered from Appellants by any forum — Deposit of an amount by Appellants to prevent execution of award against their properties constituted a liability that triggered Promoters’ obligation under the consent award — High Court erred in deferring enforceability of consent award until final confirmation by the highest court of appeal — Appeal allowed, impugned judgment set aside.

2026 INSC 361 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH VPS HEALTHCARE PRIVATE LIMITED AND ANOTHER Vs. PRABHAT KUMAR SRIVASTAVA AND ANOTHER ( Before : S.V.N. Bhatti and Prasanna B. Varale,…

Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — Section 11 — Appointment of Arbitrator — Scope of Inquiry — Limited to prima facie existence of arbitration agreement — Questions like ‘accord and satisfaction’, limitation, dishonesty, frivolity and arbitrability of subject matter are to be left to the arbitral tribunal under Section 16, reflecting the principle of Kompetenz-Kompetenz.

2026 INSC 342 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH MAHARASHTRA STATE ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION COMPANY LIMITED (MSEDCL) AND OTHERS Vs. R Z MALPANI ( Before : J.K. Maheshwari and Atul S.…

Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — Section 11 — Appointment of Arbitrator — Scope of jurisdiction under Section 11 is confined to existence of an arbitration agreement — Issue of res judicata not considered at Section 11 stage — Principles of Order 23 Rule 1 of CPC apply to proceedings under Section 11 — A fresh application under Section 11 is not maintainable if the earlier application was withdrawn without liberty to file a fresh one.

2026 INSC 302 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH RAJIV GADDH Vs. SUBODH PARKASH ( Before : Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Alok Aradhe, JJ. ) Civil Appeal No….of 2026 (@…

Arbitration Act, 1940 — Section 2(a), Sections 30 & 33 — Arbitration agreement — Validity — Held, a clause in a contract that refers disputes to the Collector for a final decision and allows for appeals within the government hierarchy does not constitute an arbitration agreement — For a valid arbitration agreement, there must be mutual consent between parties to resolve disputes through arbitration.

2026 INSC 288 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH M/S BHARAT UDYOG LTD. (FORMERLY KNOWN AS M/S JAI HIND CONTRACTORS PVT. LTD.) Vs. AMBERNATH MUNICIPAL COUNCIL THROUGH COMMISSIONER AND ANOTHER…

Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — Section 34, Section 37 — Challenge to arbitral award — Jurisdiction of arbitrator — Clause in a contract that states one party’s decision is final and cannot be challenged in any court or arbitration is void if it seeks to prevent adjudication on disputed liability, as the determination of breach and liability rests with an adjudicatory forum, not the party alleging breach.

2026 INSC 274 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH M/S ABS MARINE SERVICES Vs. THE ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ADMINISTRATION ( Before : J.B. Pardiwala and K. V. Viswanathan, JJ. )…

Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 – Section 34 and 37 – Challenge to arbitral award – Improper constitution of arbitral tribunal – Interpretation of Clause 8.3(b) of the agreement – Co-arbitrators’ power to appoint the presiding arbitrator after 30 days – High Court’s upholding of arbitral tribunal’s decision – Appeals dismissed.

2026 INSC 228 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH MUNICIPAL CORPORATION OF GREATER MUMBAI Vs. M/S R.V. ANDERSON ASSOCIATES LIMITED ( Before : J.K. Maheshwari and Atul S. Chandurkar, JJ.…

Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — Section 31(7)(a) — Interest awarded by Arbitral Tribunal — Contractual bar — Where a contract expressly prohibits the award of pre-award and pendente lite interest, an Arbitral Tribunal cannot award such interest, even if termed as compensation, as the arbitrator is bound by the terms of the contract.

2026 INSC 203 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS Vs. LARSEN AND TUBRO LIMITED (L&T) ( Before : Sanjay Karol and Vipul M. Pancholi, JJ.…

Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — Section 29A(4) — Application for extension of time to make arbitral award — Where an arbitral tribunal is constituted by the High Court under Section 11(6), any application for extension of time under Section 29A(4) would lie with the High Court. Where an arbitral tribunal is constituted by the parties themselves under Section 11(2), the application under Section 29A(4) would lie before the Principal Civil Court of original jurisdiction in a district, which also includes the High Court in its ordinary original jurisdiction.

2026 INSC 92 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH JAGDEEP CHOWGULE Vs. SHEELA CHOWGULE AND OTHERS ( Before : Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and R. Mahadevan, JJ. ) Civil Appeal No(s).Of…

Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — Section 37 — Appeal against order under Section 34 — Scope of interference by appellate court — Appellate court under Section 37 should only determine if the court under Section 34 exercised its jurisdiction properly and without exceeding its scope — Re-working and re-calculating reasonable compensation by the Division Bench when the Single Judge had already determined it based on the agreement, was beyond the scope of Section 37. (Para 18)

2026 INSC 103 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH M/S SAISUDHIR ENERGY LTD. Vs. M/S NTPC VIDYUT VYAPAR NIGAM LTD. ( Before : Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Atul S. Chandurkar,…

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