Arbitral Tribunal

The Bombay High Court was recently called upon to decide an application filed by Anupam Mittal (“Applicant”), the founder of shaadi.com, seeking to restrain Westbridge Ventures II Investment Holdings and other directors of People Interactive (India) Private Limited (“Respondents”) from enforcing an anti-suit injunction granted by the High Court of Singapore. The anti-suit injunction restrained the Applicant from proceeding with his oppression and mismanagement petition before the National Company Law Tribunal (“NCLT”) on the ground that parties had agreed to resolve their disputes via arbitration seated in Singapore and disputes pertaining to oppression and mismanagement were arbitrable under Singapore law.Continue Reading Party Autonomy Restrained? Dissecting Bombay High Court’s Anti-Enforcement Injunction Order in Anupam Mittal v. People Interactive (India) Pvt. Ltd.

EXISTENCE AND VALIDITY OF AN ARBITRATION CLAUSE: A DEEP DIVE INTO THE CHANGING PERSPECTIVE ON THE COURT’S INTERVENTION AT THE PRE-ARBITRAL STAGE: PART-II

Duro revalidated in Mayavati Trading

The Supreme Court in a three-Judge Bench decision of Mayavati Trading (P) Ltd. v. Pradyuat Deb Burman[i] (“Mayavati Trading”), considered the impending omission of Section 11(6A) of the Act vide the Amendment Act of 2019. It was conclusively stated that Section 11(6A) is confined to the examination of the existence of an arbitration agreement and is to be understood in the narrow sense as has been laid down in Duro. The Supreme Court also expressly overruled Antique Exports, recognising that its reasoning relied on the pre-amended position, i.e., before Amendment Act of 2015 introduced Section 11(6A).Continue Reading Existence and Validity of an Arbitration Clause: A Deep Dive into the Changing Perspective on the Court’s Intervention at the Pre-Arbitral Stage: Part 2

[PART I]

The question of the Court’s intervention at the time of constitution of an arbitral tribunal underwent a seminal shift in India in 2016. This shift was brought about by the insertion of Section 11(6A)[i] in the Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (“Act”) through the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2015, No. 3 of 2016 (“Amendment Act of 2015”). The introduction of Section 11(6A) limited the Court’s role at the juncture of appointment of arbitrators. The Courts sole task now was to determine whether an arbitration agreement ‘existed’ or not. Thus, inquiries  related to ‘validity’ of an arbitration agreement were to be decided by an arbitral tribunal itself,  which had the powers to rule on its own jurisdiction under Section 16 of the Act (a provision conforming to the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration, 1985).Continue Reading Existence and Validity of An Arbitration Clause: A Deep Dive into the Changing Perspective on the Court’s Intervention at the Pre-Arbitral Stage: Part 1

CONSTRUCTION ARBITRATION AND THE NUMBERS GAME: AN ANALYSIS OF THE DELHI HIGH COURT’S RECENT DECISION IN SATLUJ V. JP

A civil construction dispute is invariably a smorgasbord of contentious issues like price escalation, variation in quantities and/or costs, force majeure events and technical hindrances. Given the complex nature of a construction dispute and the claims involved, arbitration is increasingly becoming the preferred choice of parties as an ADR mechanism because of the flexibility and effectiveness it offers. However, the arbitrator(s) in such disputes must wear the hat of a legal interpreter, economist and a mathematician, a vocation few will be envious of.Continue Reading CONSTRUCTION ARBITRATION AND THE NUMBERS GAME: AN ANALYSIS OF THE DELHI HIGH COURT’S RECENT DECISION IN SATLUJ V. JP

The Hon’ble Delhi High Court in M/s Arupri Logistics Pvt. Ltd v Shri Vilas Gupta & Ors.[i], has held that an arbitral tribunal, in the absence of any specific power to implead, does not have the authority or jurisdiction to implead parties to arbitral proceedings. The power to implead cannot be inferred from Sections 16, 17 or 19 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (“the Act”). Further, the arbitral tribunal does not have any residual inherent powers under the Act either, which enables it to implead third parties in the interest of justice. The Hon’ble Court noted that the arbitral tribunal owes its origin principally to well recognised and identifiable sources such as the agreement between the parties, institutional rules or national statutes, therefore, the parties or the tribunal cannot vest itself with powers that are otherwise reserved to be exercised by courts and judicial institutions.Continue Reading Consent is King: Delhi HC Holds that Arbitral Tribunal Lacks Authority to Implead Third Parties