Can A Non-signatory Object To Enforcement Of Foreign Award In India?

In a most recent judgment¹, the Apex Court had the occasion to deal with an interesting issue i.e., “whether a non-signatory to an arbitration agreement can challenge the enforcement of a foreign award in India on any of the parameters setout in Section 48 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (“the Act”)”.

Factual Matrix:

A Representation Agreement dated 18.09.2000 (“RA”) was executed between Integrated Sales Services Ltd. (“ISS”) of Hongkong and DMC Management Consultants Ltd. (“DMC”) an Indian company based at Nagpur. This RA did not have any specific period of its validity. Under the RA, ISS was to assist DMC in its efforts to sell its goods and services to prospective customers. In addition, wherever possible, ISS was to identify potential sources of investment and investors and assist the DMC in negotiating the terms of purchase, sale and/or investment.