The Supreme Court, in Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. v. BCL Secure Premises Pvt. Ltd., expanded the scope of judicial scrutiny under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The Court held that while considering the appointment of an arbitrator, referral courts must not only verify the existence of an arbitration agreement but also undertake a prima facie assessment of whether a non-signatory is a “veritable party” to that agreement. The ruling clarifies that courts are not mere conduits for arbitration referrals and may refuse reference where no genuine legal nexus exists, while preserving the arbitral tribunal’s authority to make a final jurisdictional determination under Section 16.
Please click here to read the full article by Divyam Agarwal, Partner, Aniket Aggarwal, Principal Associate, and Priya Chauhan, Associate, published in Mondaq.
Divyam is a dual-qualified Indian Advocate and English Solicitor Advocate (having Higher Rights of Audience – Civil Law). Divyam is a specialist in international commercial arbitration and has a broad practice advising and representing corporates and financial institutions in disputes under commercial contracts.