Arbitration Agreement Enforceable By Or Against Legal Heirs: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court (High Court), in the recent case of Dr. Papiya Mukherjee v. Aruna Banerjea & Anr.,¹ has held that an arbitration agreement will not be discharged by the death of any of the parties. Being a signatory or not, the legal representatives of the deceased party will be bound by the agreement. Thus, the High Court ruled that an arbitration agreement will be enforceable by or against the legal representatives of the deceased party.

Brief Facts

The matter pertains to an application filed under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (Arbitration Act). Dr. Papiya Mukherjee, the applicant, is one of the partners of a pathological laboratory being run by virtue of the original partnership deed which was re-constituted from time to time. In 1980, a fresh partnership deed was executed between Dr. Bonbehari Banerjee, Dr. Dhrubajyoti Banerjea and the applicant. When Dr. Bonbehari Banerjee passed away in 1992, Dr. Dhrubajyoti Banerjea and