No automatic stay on enforcement of arbitration award if challenged: SC

Apex court strikes down Section 87 of Arbitration Act; Does not give interim relief to petitioners, HCC, Gammon India

A three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court, led by Justice R F Nariman, has struck down Section 87 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, which was inserted through 2019 Amendment Act. The provision provided for an automatic stay on enforcement of the award once the opposite party challenged the award in court. The Bench noted that on an average, about six years were spent in defending these challenges, and the money, therefore, is stuck for a long time.

The case was filed through a writ petition in the Apex Court by infrastructure firm Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) and Gammon