Market Intelligence

The Delhi High Court has dismissed a petition under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 seeking to restrain encashment of a Performance Bank Guarantee, holding that an invocation letter is not unsustainable merely because it does not specify or crystallise the amount to be recovered from the contractor.

The Bombay High Court has dismissed two writ petitions challenging the appointment of an arbitrator by the Central Registrar of Co-operative Societies under Section 84 of the Multi State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002 (MSCS Act). The Division Bench held that absence of a notice invoking arbitration under Section 21 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 does not stop arbitration under Section 84, that the interim moratorium under Section 96 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) was of no help to the petitioners, and that appointment of one arbitrator for multiple disputes of the bank does not disqualify him.

The Delhi High Court examined whether an arbitration agreement existed when the arbitration clause appeared only on the reverse side of commercial invoices and was never separately signed by the receiving party. The Court's determination centered on whether acceptance of goods and part-payment of invoices could constitute acceptance of arbitration terms printed on those invoices, raising fundamental questions about contract formation in commercial transactions.

This newsletter examines landmark Supreme Court rulings on arbitration jurisdiction, civil court powers in trust litigation, criminal charge framing standards, liquidation auction forfeitures, and corporate criminal liability. The cases address critical questions about incorporating arbitration clauses across interconnected agreements, the limits of interim relief before statutory leave is granted, and the framework for attributing mens rea to corporate entities in white-collar crime prosecutions.

In Satinder Pal Singh & Ors. v. Bedi Hospital & Ors., reported as 2026 INSC 1142 and decided on 16 October 2026, the Supreme Court of India examined whether a public authority could cancel an accepted auction bid before the execution of the final conveyance deed. The dispute concerned a nursing home site in Sector 33C, Chandigarh, whose bid was cancelled because it was substantially lower than the price obtained for an adjoining plot of identical size.

A deposit in Court is not synonymous with payment. In National Seeds Corporation Ltd. v. National Agro Seed Corporation (India), 2026 SCC OnLine SC 1924, the Hon’ble Supreme Court examined whether depositing an arbitral award amount in Court, by itself, extinguishes the award-debtor’s liability to pay post-award interest under Section 31(7)(b) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (“Arbitration Act”).