Supreme Court Rules On The Arbitrability Of Consumer Disputes

The Supreme Court of India (Supreme Court), vide its judgment in M/s Emaar MGF Land Limited v Aftab Singh (Review Petition (C) Nos 2629-2630 of 2018 in Civil Appeal Nos 23512-23513 of 2017), has conclusively decided that if a dispute brought before the consumer forum (consumer dispute/s) arises from an agreement which has an arbitration clause, the consumer forum will be the appropriate forum for hearing the dispute. The decision was based on the premise that consumer disputes are of a public nature and consequently, the remedies under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (Arbitration Act) for the same are barred by implication. The Supreme Court placed reliance on various landmark judgments on the subject of "arbitrability". It further demonstrated how the amendments made to Section 8(1) of the Arbitration Act vide the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2015 (2015 Amendment) did not bar the National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (NCDRC) from