Section 31(7) of The Arbitration Act XI

Court has, on multiple occasions, noted, a contractual clause which bars payment of interest is interpreted differently under 1940 Act and 1996 Act. In fact, while deciding cases under 1996 Act, Court has been slow to rely on principles laid down under 1940 Act, considering legislative incorporation of Arbitrator’s power to grant interest through Section […]

Arbitration in Bogotá, Court in Gujarat

Disortho and Meril executed an Agreement for distribution of medical products in Colombia. Clause 16.5, clear and unambiguous, explicitly states, entire Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with laws of India and all matters arising from Agreement shall fall under jurisdiction of Courts in Gujarat. Given this, it is reasonable to assume, […]

Referred to Larger Bench XXX Answered: Unending Suspicion and Endless Cycle of Mistrust

Union of India v. Tantia Constructions Limited, 2021 SCC OnLine SC 271 prima facie disagreed with Central Organisation for Railway Electrification v. ECI-SPIC-SMO-MCML (JV), [2019] 16 SCR 1234. In present reference, we have upheld decisions of this Court in TRF Ltd. v. Energo Engineering Projects Ltd., [2017] 7 SCR 409 and Perkins Eastman Architects DPC […]

Order 23, Rule 1 of The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908

It cannot be declared as a general rule, merely because a legal proceeding is not a ‘suit’, it would be completely exempted from application of principles underlying Order 23, Rule 1. These principles, being in nature of public policy, bring efficiency and certainty to administration of justice by any Court and should be invoked and […]

Justice Dr. D.Y. Chandrachud’s Tenure

Hon’ble Justice J.B. Pardiwala described, ‘tenure’ is derived from Latin: ‘tenere’, which means ‘to hold’.”[1] In a ‘tenure’ what does one even ‘hold’ considering Hon’ble Justice Dr. D.Y. Chandrachud himself declares, “We may not be masters of our destiny. Nor can we control what life has in store. What we can determine is how we […]

Most Basic Notions of Justice

Explanation 1 to Section 34(2)(b)(ii) of Arbitration Act, added through Amendment, 2015, specifies, an Arbitral Award is in conflict with public policy of India only if (i) making of Award was induced or affected by fraud or corruption or was in violation of Section 75 or Section 81; or (ii) it is in contravention with fundamental policy of […]

Section 29A(4) of The Arbitration Act

We accept view taken by High Courts of Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, Bombay, Kerala, Madras and view expressed by High Court at Calcutta. Section 29A(4) requires interpretation. It states, where Arbitral Award is not made within specified period of 12 months [Section 29A(1)] or extended period of 6 months [Section 29A(3)], mandate of […]

Section 34(3) of The Arbitration Act III

Arbitral Award made by Arbitral Tribunal on 30th June, 2022 was served on same day. In view of Section 12(1) of The Limitation Act, 1963, 30th June, 2022 will have to be excluded while computing limitation period. Thus, in effect, period of limitation started running on 1st July, 2022, period of limitation being of 3 […]

Section 37 of The Arbitration Act IV

Appellate Court under Section 37 is to decide, whether jurisdiction under Section 34 has been exercised rightly or wrongly. As observed, scope of interference under Section 34 is very narrow; jurisdiction under Section 37 is narrower [UHL Power Company Limited v. State of Himachal Pradesh, (2022) 4 SCC 116]. There is no statutory embargo on […]

Section 32 of The Arbitration Act

Arbitrator does not do pro bono work. For him, it is a professional assignment. Arbitrator who accepts an appointment cannot say, he will not fix a meeting to conduct Arbitral Proceedings or a hearing date unless parties request him to do so. It is duty of an Arbitral Tribunal to do so. Section 32 of […]

Referred to Larger Bench XXV Answered Again: Doctrine of Separability of Arbitration Agreement

Curative Petition (C) No. 44 of 2023 Review Petition (C) No. 704 of 2021 Civil Appeal No. 1599 of 2020 _____ Approach of Majority in N.N. Global 2 would render unstamped agreements void ab initio and not void. _____ We enter into contracts or agreements several times in our interactions with others. To hold an […]

Hudson, Emden, Eichleay

McDermott International Inc. v. Burn Standard Company Limited, (2006) 11 SCC 181 has referred to various methods of computation of damages. In particular, reference has been made to Hudson’s formula, Emden’s formula and Eichleay’s formula. The computation of damages should not be whimsical and absurd resulting in a windfall and bounty for one party. The […]

Slight Divergence of Russell and Gary Born

Court did not in Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Ltd. v. M/s. Navigant Technologies Pvt. Ltd., 2021 (1) SCR 1135 direct, a Dissenting Opinion to be treated as an Award. This approach is correct. There appears to be a slight divergence in thinking between Russell and Gary Born. It is evident, a Dissenting Opinion cannot […]

Random Collectibles of Justice M.R. Shah at Supreme Court

02-11-2018 – 15-05-2023 The rule flowing from the maxim ‘generalia specialibus non derogant’ has been i) considered in Hari Shankar Jain, (1978) 4 SCC 16 and ii) explained in Mary Seward v. Owner of “Vera Cruz”, (1884) 10 AC 59, 68. Pharmacy Council of India v. Dr. S.K. Toshniwal Educational Trusts, [Transfer Petition (Civil) Nos. 87-101 of 2014]. […]

Arbitration Notice

As per Section 21 of The Principal Act, Arbitral Proceedings commence on date on which a request for Arbitration is received. Union of India v. Parmar Construction Company, (2019) 15 SCC 682, which is directly on point, specifically observed, The Amendment Act shall not apply to Arbitral Proceedings which commence, before coming into force […]

Referred to Larger Bench XXV Answered: Doctrine of Separability of Arbitration Agreement

Intercontinental Hotels Group (India) Private Ltd. v. Waterline Hotels Pvt. Ltd., 2022 SCC OnLine SC 83 on issue of insufficiently/incorrectly stamped documents, proceeded to appoint an Arbitrator under Section 11(6) of The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 – considering, time-sensitivity. A sufferance of stamp deficiency is a curable defect. Arbitration Act does not specifically […]

Writ Jurisdiction in Contractual Arena II / The Revival of Ray LXXXVIII

In Banchhanidhi Rath v. State of Orissa, (1972) 4 SCC 781 this Court declared, if a right is claimed in terms of a contract such a right cannot be enforced in a Writ Petition. In Har Shankar v. Dy. Excise and Taxation Commr., (1975) 1 SCC 737 a Constitution Bench of this Court observed, Writ […]

Section 7 of The Arbitration Act

Three recitals strongly point towards an unambiguous intention of parties to refer their dispute(s) to Arbitration. Even though Clause 18 lacks certain essential characteristics, in a Development Agreement which otherwise fortifies intention of parties to Arbitrate, deficiency of words cannot legitimize annulment of an Arbitration Clause. Three-Judge Bench in Enercon (India) Ltd., (2014) 5 SCC […]

Section 31(7) of The Arbitration Act X

Sub-Section 7 of Section 31 deals with pre-award and post-award interest. Hyder Consulting (UK) Limited v. Governor, State of Orissa (2015) 2 SCC 189 overruled State of Haryana v. S.L. Arora, (2010) 3 SCC 690. Justice Sapre was of view, Arbitrator only has discretion to determine rate of post-award interest. Justice Bobde did not […]

Fourth Schedule Fee

Amendments made by Arbitration Amendment Act, 2019 have been somewhat a non-starter. _____ Fourth Schedule came into effect on 23.10.2015. Fourth Schedule is not applicable to International Commercial Arbitrations and where Arbitrators’ Fees are to be determined in accordance with Rules of Arbitral Institutions. _____ Arbitrator’s Fees must be fixed at inception to avoid unnecessary […]

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