The Supreme Court of India has reaffirmed the country’s strong pro-arbitration stance, ruling that court orders appointing arbitrators under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 cannot be reviewed by the same court. The decision came in the case involving Hindustan Construction Company Ltd. and Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam Ltd., where the court criticized attempts to derail arbitration through procedural challenges.
The dispute reached the Supreme Court after the Patna High Court appointed an arbitrator under Section 11 of the Act. The respondent—a public sector undertaking—challenged the order more than three years after the arbitration proceedings had begun, despite having already participated in more than seventy hearings.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court rejected the attempt to revisit the arbitrator appointment, holding that Section 11 orders are not subject to review by the same court.