The Court's Scrutiny Of Grounds For Challenging Arbitral Award Cannot Be Superficial

At first blush, the title of this article may seem to not go well with the limited scope of scrutiny of an arbitral award under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 ("the Act"), as is generally understood. There are several judicial precedents holding that powers of court in this regard are proscribed and not prescribed and that courts cannot set aside the awards even if the arbitrators commit an error of fact or law. However, a Division Bench of Hon'ble High Court of Delhi in a very recent judgment in case National Highways Authority of India vs. IRB Pathankot Amritsar Toll Road Ltd.¹ ("IRB Pathankot"), has held exactly so while setting aside the arbitral award as well as the judgement of Single Judge upholding the award. A reading of the judgment of the Division Bench would show a careful scrutiny done by the court of the findings in the award while considering the Petitioner's very well-articulated contentions for challenging the award in