Modifying The Un-Modifiable: Supreme Court To Revisit The M. Hakeem Judgement

India while revamping its 1940's arbitration law, had consciously chosen to adopt largely from the model law circulated in 1985 by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law ('UNCITRAL'). Accordingly, the legislature enacted the new arbitration law i.e. Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 ('Act') and even accredited the model law in its preamble. The new Act provides a structure to the process of domestic arbitration, which concludes into an 'Award' between the parties. Moreover, the Act also outlines the considerably debated, argued and legislated process of challenge to the very award. However, both the Act and UNCITRAL Model law are uncomfortably silent of the process in case such challenge to the award is allowed either partly or wholly.