Summary

The present petition has been filed under Sections 44, 46, 47 and 49 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 ("the Act") and Order XXI Rule 11 (2) read with Section 151 of the CPC, seeking enforcement and execution of the first Partial Award passed by an Arbitral Tribunal comprising of three Arbitrators ("Arbitral Tribunal") in ICC Arbitration Case No. 27726/HTG/YMK under the ICC Rules as corrected on 09.10.2024.

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CONCLUSION

By withholding such information, the Arbitrator effectively deprived the Judgment Debtor of the opportunity to assess the circumstances and to raise a timely challenge to the composition of the tribunal. Consequently, such a defect transcends a mere procedural irregularity and amounts to a violation of the most basic notions of justice and morality, as well as the fundamental policy of Indian law.

This Court is cognizant of the fact that the ground of bias, as subsumed within the public policy exception, ought not to be invoked lightly or routinely to refuse enforcement of arbitral awards, particularly having regard to the time, cost, and finality associated with arbitral proceedings. However, there always exist rare and exceptional cases where the circumstances are so egregious that judicial intervention becomes imperative. Where the arbitral process is vitiated by a clear infraction of the most basic notions of justice and morality, the Court would be failing in its duty were it to enforce such an award. The present case, in my considered view, constitutes one such instance warranting refusal of enforcement.