Consent decree in Admiralty suit binds Charterer; Calcutta HC rejects Section 45 Arbitration plea
In considering Section 45 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, the Calcutta High Court held that referring the dispute to arbitration would require it to treat the existing consent decree as non-binding on the charterer, which could not be done at the execution stage in the absence of proceedings to set aside the decree.