Arbitration

Arbitral tribunal rejects Zee Entertainment's claims against PSU RailTel

Zee Entertainment and its subsidiary Margo Networks have lost their claims in the arbitration against Navratna PSU RailTel Corporation of India. An arbitration tribunal -- formed over the dispute over the termination of the contract for content-on-demand (COD) by the PSU -- rejected the claim of Margo Networks. "This is to inform you that the Arbitral Tribunal vide its Arbitral Award has rejected the said claims filed by the Company and Margo against Railtel," according to a regulatory filing from Zee Entertainment. Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) and its subsidiary had initiated arbitration proceedings, opposing "wrongful termination of the Content on Demand Agreement" by Railtel, and claimed the amounts wrongfully forfeited by the public sector undertaking. Further, the Arbitral Tribunal has also rejected the counterclaims made by Railtel, it added. "The company is evaluating the option of filing an application/appeal before the appropriate Court for setting aside of th

Govt floats draft bill to amend arbitration law; adds emergency provision

Seeking to provide "further boost" to institutional arbitration and reduce court intervention in such cases, the government has come out with a draft bill seeking views on the proposed amendments. The Department of Legal Affairs in the law ministry has invited comments on the draft Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2024, saying "the aim and purpose is to provide further boost to institutional arbitration, reduce court intervention in arbitrations and ensuring timely conclusion of arbitration proceedings". The draft bill comes months after an expert committee headed by former law secretary and former Lok Sabha secretary general T K Vishwanathan submitted its report on proposed reforms in the arbitration sector to the law ministry. The draft bill proposes the concept of 'emergency arbitration'. The proposed amendment says arbitral institutions may, for the purpose of grant of interim measures, provide for appointment of "emergency arbitrator" prior to the constitution of

Boosting confidence: International arbitration can drive more investment

India must reform its judicial system to enable faster dispute resolutions. This will help improve overall investor confidence and ease of doing business

India reduces arbitration time for foreign investors in UAE agreement

Investment pact to increase investor confidence: Goyal

HC upholds arbitral award in favour of R-Infra in judgement on DVC petition

The arbitration award is worth approximately Rs 780 crore, including accrued interest, and bank guarantees of Rs 600 crore will also be released

Delhi HC appoints arbitrator to resolve PVR INOX, Ansal Plaza Mall dispute

PVR INOX has filed a claim of approximately Rs 4.5 crore against Ansal Plaza Mall in Greater Noida, seeking arbitration to address the issue

ICAI to establish Section 8 company for mediation, arbitration activities

Chartered accountants' apex body ICAI will be setting up a Section 8 company for mediation and arbitration activities, its President Ranjeet Kumar Agarwal said on Friday. Section 8 companies are set for not-for-profit activities and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has so far set up five such companies. At the inaugural session of 'RESOLVE-2024: An International Convention on Insolvency Resolution & Valuation' in the national capital, he said the institute is in the process of setting up a Section 8 company, under the directives of Law Ministry, especially for mediation and arbitration. According to him, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has asked the institute to help in developing valuation standards for the asset class 'Land & Building' and 'Plant & Machinery' on the lines of the valuation standards prepared by it for the asset class 'Securities or Financial Assets'. The Insolvency & Valuation Standards Board of ICAI along ...

Sembcorp files case against Siemens Gamesa over unsettled arbitration

Sembcorp's India unit has filed a suit in a Bengaluru court to stop Siemens Gamesa from selling country business before settling an arbitration arising from alleged default in executing a contract. In its filing before the Principal City Civil and Sessions Judge at Bengaluru, Sembcorp sought injunction over sale of the India assets of Siemens Gamesa, including its shareholding. The court issued notices to Siemens Gamesa, court documents showed. Sembcorp's India arm has filed a suit against Siemens Gamesa and its parent entity, Siemens Energy AG. Siemens Energy AG has reportedly put its India subsidiary Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy's entire India manufacturing, maintenance and services business in renewables up for sale. This is effectively seen as a country exit for Siemens Gamesa. Considering these material events and information, which lead to reasonable apprehension regarding the continued operation of the Siemens Gamesa as a going concern, Sembcorp filed an injunction petit

DMRC vs DAMEPL: SC broadens scope of court intervention in arbitral awards

A perusal of the judgment in DMRC vs DAMEPL would show that the SC has interpreted the terms of the contract and that too, in its curative jurisdiction

We are using AI to translate new criminal legislations: Ministry of Law

As far as the use of technology in the arbitration and mediation system is concerned, he said they have consciously incorporated the use of online mediation

Max Healthcare and Touch Healthcare signs agreement to settle dispute

Max Healthcare accused Touch Healthcare of favouring Blackstone's offer over a prior agreement for Care Hospitals' sale

Panel headed by former law secretary submits report on arbitration reforms

An expert committee headed by former law secretary T K Vishwanathan has submitted its report on reforms in the arbitration sector to the law ministry, sources said on Wednesday. The panel, which also had representatives of the law ministry as well as domain experts, has recommended an amendment to the Arbitration law to confer on the court the power to set aside or vary the arbitration award, the sources said. Industry representatives have dubbed the proposed changes in the law as a setback for arbitration reforms in the country. They said that one of the major issues plaguing arbitrations especially in a jurisdiction such as India is with regard to the fees charged by arbitrators being on the higher side. The reforms propose deletion of the Fourth schedule dealing with fee schedule. The panel has also set no limits on number of arbitrations an arbitrator can take, leading to delay in award, they said. The also noted that no upper age limit has been prescribed for accepting ...

IRB Infra Trust wins Rs 1,720 cr arbitration award for highway project

Yedeshi Aurangabad Tollway Ltd (YATL), a special purpose vehicle of IRB Infrastructure Trust, has won an arbitration award of Rs 1,720 crore for a highway project, a statement said on Sunday. The YATL had initiated arbitration proceedings against the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) after the authority disputed the company's claim for the extension of the concession period by 870 days and compensation of Rs 1,751 crore, the statement said. IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd is the sponsor of IRB Infrastructure Trust. IRB was the EPC contractor for YATL and continues to be the project manager for YATL. The arbitration was based on the compensation payable to the IRB towards time and cost overrun suffered during the construction period on account of delays attributable to the NHAI and certain Force Majeure events, it added. After thoroughly hearing both sides, the statement said the Arbitration Tribunal has directed NHAI to pay compensation of Rs 1,720 crore including Inter

Byju's vs BCCI: Edtech wants arbitrator to decide Rs 158 crore dispute

The firm claimed before the NCLT that it is in talks with the BCCI to settle the payment dispute. However, the BCCI reportedly denied and told the tribunal that no negotiations were underway

Delhi Airport wins arbitration against AAI, secures refund & payment waiver

The tribunal outlined specific directives that entail a refund of Rs 500 crore from AAI and a waiver of Rs 1,800 crore payment to the authority

PMO imposter case: CBI files charge sheet against Ahmedabad-based person

The CBI has filed a charge sheet against Ahmedabad-based Maayank Tiwari who allegedly posed as a high-ranking official of the Prime Minister's Office to force an eye hospital chain to forfeit more than Rs 16 crore owed to it by an Indore-based hospital under a legal dispute, according to officials. After a nearly three-month-long probe, the CBI filed the first charge sheet in the case in a special CBI court here. In October, the agency had carried out searches at several locations, including Ahmedabad and Indore, during which a number of documents were seized. Tiwari had allegedly called and sent messages from his mobile phone, asking the promoters of Dr Agarwal's - a chain of eye hospitals - to settle a dispute with the hospital in Indore, which allegedly had to return Rs 16 crore to the hospital chain, according to the charge sheet. It is alleged that Dr Agarwal's had entered an agreement with two doctors who ran the Indore-based hospital to join the franchise for which over Rs 1

Wipro's lawsuit against ex-CFO referred to arbitration by civil court

The court took this decision as Dalal produced agreements that indicated that disputes were to be settled through arbitration

Court to pass orders on ex-CFO's plea for arbitration with Wipro on Jan 3

A civil court in Bengaluru will pass orders on January 3 on two interlocutory applications (IA) by Wipro Limited's former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jatin Pravinchandra Dalal seeking arbitration with his former company. The suit filed by Wipro on November 28 seeks payment of compensation of Rs 25,15,52,875 with interest of 18 per cent for allegedly violating a clause in his employment contract with the company. Dalal resigned from Wipro in September and is set to join rival Cognizant in January. Allegedly, the non-compete clause prevents Dalal from joining a rival within one year of leaving the company, failing which he would be liable to compensate Wipro with the value of the Restricted Stock Units (RSU) allotted to him or the sum of his total remuneration in the previous 12 months. Earlier on November 28, the counsel for Dalal had filed a memo stating that the defendant was hospitalised. In a subsequent hearing, Dalal's counsel filed IA No 4 under Section 8(2) of the Arbitrati

SC says unstamped agreements enforceable, overrules its April judgment

Stamping means when a stamp duty is paid on the value of the agreement as per the Stamps Act

Arbitration pact: Supreme Court upholds group of companies doctrine

The doctrine was contested by some parties, who said that it did not consider individual party autonomy and the separate legal entity concept