Court's Power To Modify An Arbitral Award

INTRODUCTION

In a recent ruling in Gayatri Balaswamy vs. M/S. ISG Novasoft Technologies Ltd[1], a Constitution Bench of five judges of the Supreme Court considered a reference made by a three-judge Bench to determine whether a court has the authority to modify an arbitral award under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. By a 4:1 majority, the Bench, headed by the Chief Justice, held that while such modification is not generally permitted, it can be allowed in certain "limited" scenarios.