Reinforcement Of Limits On Extending Arbitration To Non-signatories

When the Hon'ble Supreme Court delivered its decision in SBI General Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Krish Spinny¹, there was an initial impression in the hallowed corridors of all the High Courts that Section 11 applications would thereafter require minimal judicial scrutiny. For a moment, it appeared as though these petitions would be disposed of almost mechanically, with the High Court merely confirming the existence of an arbitration agreement and moving on. The principal that was being applied was that once an arbitrator was appointed, every other issue, however complex, would appropriately fall within the domain of the arbitrator. That optimism, however, did not survive for too long. As diverse factual scenarios continue to surface in Indian litigation, the Bombay High Court's decision in Mukesh Patel & Ors. v. Pant Nagar Ganesh Krupa CHS Ltd. & Ors.makes it abundantly clear that, in matters involving intricate factual matrices, the High Court cannot sidestep from its