Introduction
Two recent judgements of the Indian courts portray differing
judicial views on the consequence of arbitration clauses in
unstamped agreements. A Full Bench of the Bombay High Court in
Gautam Landscapes Pvt. Ltd. v. Shailesh Shah and Ors1.
decided on 4 April 2019, ruled that a judicial authority could act
on an unstamped agreement containing an arbitration clause and
deferred the question as to the validity of the agreement to the
arbitral tribunal.
In contrast, the Supreme Court in a judgement rendered two weeks
later in Garware Wall Ropes Ltd vs. Coastal Marine Constructions
& Engineering Ltd.2, (another case) overruled the
judgement of the Bombay High Court, and held that an unstamped
agreement must necessarily await adjudication by the stamp
authorities in order for the court to act on an arbitration clause
embedded in it. The appeal before the Supreme Court arose out of an
application under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation
Act,
