Can Non-signatories To An Arbitration Agreement Be Compelled To Participate In An Arbitration?

Standard Position - De facto parties in arbitration

Arbitration is a consensual submission to a dispute resolution mechanism where parties agree to be bound by a third party's (arbitrator) ruling.

Until 2015, the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 ("Act") prescribed only for signatories to apply to the court for referral of a dispute to arbitration. However, in furtherance of Chloro Controls (I) P. Ltd v Severn Trent Water Purification ("Chloro Controls") [2013 1 SCC 641] and Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2015 the words "or any person claiming through or under them to arbitration" were inserted into Section 8 of the Act, allowing non-signatories to apply to courts for referring a dispute to an arbitral tribunal.