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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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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Referred to Larger Bench XXX: Section 12(5) of The Arbitration Act V

Three Judges, on 11.01.2021, in Union of India v. M/s. Tantia Constructions Limited, Special Leave Petition (Civil) 12670 of 2020 prima facie disagreed with Three Judges in Central Organisation for Railway Electrification v. M/s. ECI-SPIC-SMO-MCML (JV), Civil Appeal No. 9486-9487 of 2019. Three Judges, on 16.08.2022, in JSW Steel v. South Western Railway, Special Leave […]

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Section 11(6) of The Arbitration Act V

Sole Arbitrator was appointed by parties themselves by mutual consent. There was no written agreement/contract containing an Arbitration Clause. Thus, an application under Section 11(6) was not maintainable. Whether Arbitrator’s mandate was terminated under Section 14(1)(a) could not be decided on an application under Section 11(6) and shall have to be considered by Court on […]

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Non-Signatories to Arbitration III

The principle for binding Non-Signatories as laid down in Chloro Controls India Pvt. Ltd. v. Severn Trent Water Purification Inc., (2013) 1 SCC 641 was applied in context of a Domestic Arbitration in Ameet Lalchand Shah v. Rishabh Enterprises, (2018) 15 SCC 678. Three-Judge Bench of this Court in Cheran Properties Ltd. v. Kasturi & […]

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Section 34(4) of The Arbitration Act

To differentiate between ‘findings’ and ‘reasons’, Mr. K.V. Vishwanathan relied on Income Tax Officer, A-Ward, Sitapur v. Murlidhar Bhagwan Das, AIR 1965 SC 342. It is clear, “finding is a decision on an issue”. J. Ashoka v. University of Agricultural Sciences, (2017) 2 SCC 609 held, “reasons are the links between the materials on which […]

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Fraud I

As per settled proposition of law, mere mentioning and using of word ‘fraud’/’fraudulent’ is not sufficient to satisfy test of ‘fraud’. Hon’ble Justice Vivian Bose, Bishundeo Narain v. Seogeni Rai, (1951) SCR 548: “Now if there is one rule which is better established than any other, it is – in cases of fraud, undue influence and […]

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Time of Essence

Welspun Specialty Solutions Limited was formerly known as Remi Metals Gujarat Limited. Arbitral Tribunal held, merely having a clause in contract making ‘time of essence’ would not be determinative. Learned Senior Counsel, appearing for Remi Metals (now Welspun), submitted, view taken by Arbitral Tribunal was reasonable, plausible and can be sustained. We need to ascertain […]

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