ARBITRATION
Dispute Over Property Used Exclusively For Trade Constitutes Commercial Dispute Even If Situated In Residential Area: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court held that a dispute arising from a lease agreement under which premises were used actually used for running a retail showroom qualifies as a commercial dispute under section 2(1)(c)(vii) of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 even if the property is situated in a residential zone under the Municipal Law. A Division Bench of Justice Anil Kshetrapal and Justice...
Order Refusing To Terminate Arbitration Is Not An Interim Award: Bombay High Court Dismisses Challenge U/S 34 A&C Act
The Bombay High Court dismissed a petition under section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (Arbitration Act) challenging an order passed by the Arbitral Tribunal by which it had refused to terminate the ongoing proceedings holding that the order was merely a prima facie view, interlocutory one and not an arbitral award capable of being challenged. Justice...
Arbitral Tribunal Cannot Rewrite Executed Contract Using Internal Notings: Bombay High Court Sets Aside Award Against Konkan Railway
The Bombay High Court set aside a majority arbitral award that had directed Konkan Railway to bear Royalty Charges for earth used in a Madhya Pradesh project holding that the arbitral tribunal acted in contravention of the contractual terms and committed patent illegality by relying on internal tender committee minutes to infer a different intention of the parties. Justice R.I....
Arbitration | Dispute On Interest Rate Doesn't Fall Under Public Policy Ground To Set Aside Award Ordinarily: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on Tuesday (November 18) upheld the charging of a 24% interest rate in an arbitral award, stating that an interest rate agreed upon in a commercial loan agreement did not violate the fundamental policy of Indian law. “It is well-settled that fundamental policy of Indian law does not refer to violation of any Statue but fundamental principles on which Indian law is...
Multiple Remand Orders U/S 37 A&C Act “Unworkable” Without Reversing Findings On Merits: Madras High Court
The Madras High Court held that multiple remand orders issued by courts under section 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (Arbitration Act) without disturbing or reversing the findings on merits recorded by earlier Single Judges were incapable of implementation. The court found the situation unprecedented and unusual holding that the statutory scheme of the Civil Procedure...
Tariff During Registration Was To Remain Fixed For 25 Years; CSPDCL Waived Its Rights: Delhi High Court Allows IREDA's Appeal Over GBI Scheme
The Delhi High Court Bench of Chief Justice and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela has observed that under the Generation Based Incentive Scheme (GBI) Scheme, 2010 by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, the tariff at the time of registration of project would remain constant for a period of 25 years and any upward revision of tariff by State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (“SERC”) from...
Suspension Of Proceedings By Arbitrator For Non-Payment Of Revised Fees Amounts To Effective Withdrawal From Office: Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court held that an arbitrator who suspended the proceedings indefinitely on the ground of non-payment of revised fees and thereafter failed to conduct hearings must be deemed to have withdrawn from office under section 15 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (Arbitration Act). The court further held that the arbitrator's mandate had also expired by efflux of...
Award Holder Cannot Claim Compound Interest When Tribunal Grants Only Simple Interest In Arbitral Award: Meghalaya High Court
The Meghalaya High Court set aside an order of the Commercial Court, Shillong which had accepted the calculation of the award holder's method of calculating interest and directed Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. (PGCIL) to pay the remaining amount under an arbitral award. The Court held that the Executing Court had effectively modified the award by permitting computation of...
Delhi High Court Revives Motorola's 17-Year-Old Dispute With MTNL Over Arbitral Award Amounting To $8,768,505
The Delhi High Court allowing a Section 37, Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (“ACA”) appeal filed by MTNL against an arbitral award passed in favour of Motorola amounting to ~USD 8,768,505 has revived a 17-year-old between the parties. The Bench of Justices Anil Kshetrapal and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar set aside the judgment passed by a Single Judge of the Court in...
'Denial Of Relevant Information To Party By Arbitral Tribunal Amounts To Violation Of Due Process': Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court has held that an arbitral award passed without granting access to relevant documents or materials to one of the parties amounts to a violation of the principles of natural justice and due process. The Court observed that the arbitral tribunal's refusal to supply such documents deprived the party of a fair opportunity to defend its case, thereby rendering the...
'Absence Of Arbitration Clause In Agreement Does Not Render Dispute Non-Arbitrable': Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court has held that the absence of an independent arbitration clause in a supplemental agreement, when the principal agreement contains an arbitration clause, does not render the dispute non-arbitrable. The Court ruled that a supplemental agreement, merely ancillary to the principal agreement, which seeks to record that the consideration under the Development Agreement...