{"id":293238,"date":"2023-05-27T11:00:03","date_gmt":"2023-05-27T05:30:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?p=293238"},"modified":"2023-06-01T17:21:13","modified_gmt":"2023-06-01T11:51:13","slug":"merits-of-termination-of-contract-must-essentially-be-determined-by-arbitral-tribunal-delhi-hc-legal-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/05\/27\/merits-of-termination-of-contract-must-essentially-be-determined-by-arbitral-tribunal-delhi-hc-legal-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Invocation of power of Judicial review in proceedings under S. 9 of Arbitration Act would run afoul to principle that merits of termination of contract must essentially be determined by Arbitral Tribunal: Delhi HC"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\"><b>Delhi High Court:<\/b> In a petition filed under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001544997\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">9<\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726958\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996<\/a>, (&#8216;the Act&#8217;) wherein an interim stay was sought on the Termination Notice served by the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd., (&#8216;NHIDCL&#8217;) the Single Judge Bench of Yashwant Varma, J., refused to grant the interim stay and interfere with the action of the NHIDCL.<\/p>\n<p><b>Background<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The dispute between the Ksheeraabd Construction Pvt. Ltd. (&#8216;petitioner&#8217;) and NHIDCL emanated from a contract awarding the petitioner a Letter of Acceptance dated 11-03-2020, wherein the construction of two-lane with hard shoulder of Changtongya &#8211; Longleng Road in the State of Nagaland under NH (O) Plan was agreed at a contract price of INR 128 crores. The construction work was obligated to be completed by 30-06-2022 but on petitioner&#8217;s request the time for completion of the contract was extended from 30-06-2022 to 03-02-2023. The time period for completion was extended by an Extension of Time (&#8216;EOT&#8217;). As per NHIDCL, despite the grant of EOT, the petitioner was able to achieve only 79.12 percent of the Cumulative Physical Progress targets. Therefore, a termination notice was issued to the petitioner. However, a Cure Notice was issued to the petitioner, but the petitioner had failed to take the effective steps for timely completion of the project on the scheduled completion date and failed to show any physical progress within the sixty days of the Cure Notice period.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Therefore, aggrieved by the Termination Notice, the petitioner sought interim measures and orders of injunction in respect of the Termination Notice issued by the NHIDCL.<\/p>\n<p><b>Analysis and Decision<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 36pt;\"><b>Whether the Contract Agreement in the present case is one which would fall within the parameters of Section 14(d) of the SRA?<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 36pt; margin-bottom: 2%;\"><b>Whether the injunction as sought in respect of the Termination Notice would be legally sustainable bearing in mind the Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001563335\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">14(d)<\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726962\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Specific Relief Act, 1963<\/a> (&#8216;the SRA&#8217;)?<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Court perused the Termination Notice and noted that it was issued by NHIDCL not only for the failure in achieving milestones in construction work but also raised the issue of certain forged Bank Guarantees.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Court noted that Section 14 of the SRA specifies contracts which are not specifically enforceable. Clause (d) of Section 14 stipulates that a contract which is in its nature determinable cannot be specifically enforced. Resultantly, the grant of an injunction in respect of such a contract stands prohibited in light of Section 41(e) of the SRA and which prescribes that an injunction cannot be granted to prevent the breach of a contract the performance of which would not be specifically enforced.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Court noted that in <i>Turnaround Logistics (P) Ltd.<\/i> v. <i>Jet Airways (India) Ltd.<\/i>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink\/D7m5MTfo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2006 SCC OnLine Del 1872<\/a> (&#8216;Turnaround Logistics&#8217;) while dealing with the scope and ambit of Section 14(d) the word &#8220;determinable&#8221; was interpreted to mean any contract which could be put to an end. It had observed that all revocable contracts would thus fall within the breadth of the expression &#8220;determinable contracts&#8221;. It was further observed that Section 14(d) would thus extend not only to voidable contracts but also to those which stipulated or envisaged termination on the occurrence of a particular event.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Court said that the decision in <i>National Highways Authority of India<\/i> v. <i>Panipat Jalandhar NH-I Tollway Pvt. Ltd.<\/i>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink\/TJUGkISL\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2021 SCC OnLine Del 2632<\/a> (&#8216;National Highways Authority&#8217;) assumes significance as an identical question for the scope and ambit of Section 14(d) was answered and the Court was dealing with a highway construction project contract and which embodied identical clauses relating to termination, cure period and other like provisions. It was observed that since the contract was terminable, albeit on the occurrence of a breach or default, it was liable to be viewed as one falling within the scope of Section 14(d) and therefore the grant of an injunction was impermissible in law.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The decision in <i>Gujarat Chemical Port Terminal Co. Ltd.<\/i> v. <i>Indian Oil Corpn. of India<\/i>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink\/0YZvk98V\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2016 SCC OnLine Bom 2605<\/a>, was considered significant by the Court. While dealing with contracts which contemplated termination upon the occurrence of an eventuality, or an event, it was held to be determinable and thus falling within the scope of Section 14(d).<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Court said that it was bound by the legal position embodied in the decisions of the Court in Turnaround Logistics and National Highways Authority (supra) both of which had explained the injunct embodied in Section 14(d) of the SRA to be applicable to all revocable or voidable contracts. Further, the Court said that both the decisions in unequivocal terms explained the extent of the statutory embargo enshrined in Section 14(d) of the SRA as extending to contracts which can be revoked in terms of the stipulations contained therein. The principle appeared to be founded upon the reasoning that a contract which could be revoked by either of the parties cannot be specifically enforced.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Court said that the invocation of power of judicial review in proceedings under Section 9 would also fall foul of the principles which were enunciated in <i>Rajasthan Breweries Limited<\/i> v. <i>Stroh Brewery Company<\/i>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink\/ElUSwg6y\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2000 SCC OnLine Del 481<\/a>, <i>Overnite Express Ltd.<\/i> v. <i>DMRC<\/i>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink\/ltk6G216\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2020 SCC OnLine Del 2093<\/a> and <i>Indian Railways Catering &amp; Tourism Corp. Ltd.<\/i> v. <i>Cox &amp; Kings India Ltd.<\/i>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink\/omczM62l\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2012 SCC OnLine Del 113<\/a>, wherein it was consistently held that the merits of a termination of a contract are issues which must be essentially left for determination by the Arbitral Tribunal.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Court said that even though it is a Constitutional Court, in the instant petition it was essentially called upon to consider the exercise of powers conferred under a special statute. It would perhaps be impermissible to invoke the Constitutional powers of judicial review while considering a petition under Section 9 of the Act. The adoption of such a course would also run afoul ultimately since even if it were to eventually conclude that an action is arbitrary, its power to grant an injunction was still dependent upon and subject to the provisions of Section 14(d) of the SRA.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Court was unable to hold or interpret Section 14(d) of the SRA to be confined only to those contracts where parties have the right to terminate without assigning any reason or where that power be exercisable even in the absence of an event or breach. As held in the several decisions of the Court, the power to terminate, whether it be for cause or otherwise, based on an allegation of breach or the happening of an event, if preserved would lead to the Court recognising such a contract falling within the scope of Section 14(d) of the SRA.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Court said that insofar as the issue of the forged Bank Guarantees (BGs) was concerned, the petitioner had sought to evade the liability that came to be attached consequent to the discovery of those BGs being forged by attributing that infraction to a Financial Consultant which had been engaged by it. Thus, the Court refused to interfere with the impugned action of NHIDCL.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">However, the Court said that the contention on merits addressed by the petitioner&#8217;s counsels were left open to be agitated in the arbitral proceedings.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">[<span style=\"font-weight: bold; color: #632423;\">Ksheeraabd Construction Pvt. Ltd. v. National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd., <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink\/uU089B5E\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2023 SCC OnLine Del 3156<\/a>, Order Dated: 23-05-2023<\/span>]<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p>Advocates who appeared in this case :<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt;\">For the Petitioner- Advocate Vikas Mehta and Advocate Anshula Grover;<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt;\">For the Respondent- Advocate Kunal Tandon and Advocate Richa Sharma.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><i>The Court also upheld the validity of the termination notice issued by the NHIDCL and refused to interfere with its actions against the construction company.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67011,"featured_media":290500,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,10],"tags":[10131,2543,55147,57968,46868,45193],"class_list":["post-293238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-casebriefs","category-highcourts","tag-arbitration-and-conciliation-act","tag-Delhi_High_Court","tag-hc","tag-section-14-of-specific-relief-act","tag-section-9","tag-termination-of-contract"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.4 (Yoast SEO v26.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Merits of termination of contract must essentially be determined by Arbitral Tribunal: Delhi HC<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Merits of termination of contract must essentially be determined by Arbitral Tribunal, invocation of power of judicial review under S. 9 of Arbitration Act would run afoul: Delhi HC\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/05\/27\/merits-of-termination-of-contract-must-essentially-be-determined-by-arbitral-tribunal-delhi-hc-legal-news\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Invocation of power of Judicial review in proceedings under S. 9 of Arbitration Act would run afoul to principle that merits of termination of contract must essentially be determined by Arbitral Tribunal: Delhi HC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Merits of termination of contract must essentially be determined by Arbitral Tribunal, invocation of power of judicial review under S. 9 of Arbitration Act would run afoul: Delhi HC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/05\/27\/merits-of-termination-of-contract-must-essentially-be-determined-by-arbitral-tribunal-delhi-hc-legal-news\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SCC Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/scc.online\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-05-27T05:30:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-06-01T11:51:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/delhi-high-court.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"886\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"590\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Invocation of power of Judicial review in proceedings under S. 9 of Arbitration Act would run afoul to principle that merits of termination of contract must essentially be determined by Arbitral Tribunal: Delhi HC\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/05\/27\/merits-of-termination-of-contract-must-essentially-be-determined-by-arbitral-tribunal-delhi-hc-legal-news\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/05\/27\/merits-of-termination-of-contract-must-essentially-be-determined-by-arbitral-tribunal-delhi-hc-legal-news\/\",\"name\":\"Merits of termination of contract must essentially be determined by Arbitral Tribunal: Delhi HC\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/05\/27\/merits-of-termination-of-contract-must-essentially-be-determined-by-arbitral-tribunal-delhi-hc-legal-news\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/05\/27\/merits-of-termination-of-contract-must-essentially-be-determined-by-arbitral-tribunal-delhi-hc-legal-news\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/delhi-high-court.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-05-27T05:30:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-06-01T11:51:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/84e42bab48238baf12c7e33b3d9761fe\"},\"description\":\"Merits of termination of contract must essentially be determined by Arbitral Tribunal, invocation of power of judicial review under S. 9 of Arbitration Act would run afoul: Delhi HC\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/05\/27\/merits-of-termination-of-contract-must-essentially-be-determined-by-arbitral-tribunal-delhi-hc-legal-news\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/05\/27\/merits-of-termination-of-contract-must-essentially-be-determined-by-arbitral-tribunal-delhi-hc-legal-news\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/05\/27\/merits-of-termination-of-contract-must-essentially-be-determined-by-arbitral-tribunal-delhi-hc-legal-news\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/delhi-high-court.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/delhi-high-court.webp\",\"width\":886,\"height\":590,\"caption\":\"delhi high court\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/05\/27\/merits-of-termination-of-contract-must-essentially-be-determined-by-arbitral-tribunal-delhi-hc-legal-news\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Invocation of power of Judicial review in proceedings under S. 9 of Arbitration Act would run afoul to principle that merits of termination of contract must essentially be determined by Arbitral Tribunal: Delhi HC\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"SCC Times\",\"description\":\"Bringing you the Best Analytical Legal News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/84e42bab48238baf12c7e33b3d9761fe\",\"name\":\"Editor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/34e366be721c41333586de05faa13743195f5b142dcd7a015c6fabd2389521d0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/34e366be721c41333586de05faa13743195f5b142dcd7a015c6fabd2389521d0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Editor\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/author\/editor_4\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Merits of termination of contract must essentially be determined by Arbitral Tribunal: Delhi HC","description":"Merits of termination of contract must essentially be determined by Arbitral Tribunal, invocation of power of judicial review under S. 9 of Arbitration Act would run afoul: Delhi HC","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/05\/27\/merits-of-termination-of-contract-must-essentially-be-determined-by-arbitral-tribunal-delhi-hc-legal-news\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Invocation of power of Judicial review in proceedings under S. 9 of Arbitration Act would run afoul to principle that merits of termination of contract must essentially be determined by Arbitral Tribunal: Delhi HC","og_description":"Merits of termination of contract must essentially be determined by Arbitral Tribunal, invocation of power of judicial review under S. 9 of Arbitration Act would run afoul: Delhi HC","og_url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/05\/27\/merits-of-termination-of-contract-must-essentially-be-determined-by-arbitral-tribunal-delhi-hc-legal-news\/","og_site_name":"SCC Times","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/scc.online\/","article_published_time":"2023-05-27T05:30:03+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-06-01T11:51:13+00:00","og_image":[{"width":886,"height":590,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/delhi-high-court.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Editor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Invocation of power of Judicial review in proceedings under S. 9 of Arbitration Act would run afoul to principle that merits of termination of contract must essentially be determined by Arbitral Tribunal: Delhi HC","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Editor","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/05\/27\/merits-of-termination-of-contract-must-essentially-be-determined-by-arbitral-tribunal-delhi-hc-legal-news\/","url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/05\/27\/merits-of-termination-of-contract-must-essentially-be-determined-by-arbitral-tribunal-delhi-hc-legal-news\/","name":"Merits of termination of contract must essentially be determined by Arbitral Tribunal: Delhi HC","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/05\/27\/merits-of-termination-of-contract-must-essentially-be-determined-by-arbitral-tribunal-delhi-hc-legal-news\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/05\/27\/merits-of-termination-of-contract-must-essentially-be-determined-by-arbitral-tribunal-delhi-hc-legal-news\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/delhi-high-court.webp","datePublished":"2023-05-27T05:30:03+00:00","dateModified":"2023-06-01T11:51:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/84e42bab48238baf12c7e33b3d9761fe"},"description":"Merits of termination of contract must essentially be determined by Arbitral Tribunal, invocation of power of judicial review under S. 9 of Arbitration Act would run afoul: Delhi HC","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/05\/27\/merits-of-termination-of-contract-must-essentially-be-determined-by-arbitral-tribunal-delhi-hc-legal-news\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/05\/27\/merits-of-termination-of-contract-must-essentially-be-determined-by-arbitral-tribunal-delhi-hc-legal-news\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/05\/27\/merits-of-termination-of-contract-must-essentially-be-determined-by-arbitral-tribunal-delhi-hc-legal-news\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/delhi-high-court.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/delhi-high-court.webp","width":886,"height":590,"caption":"delhi high court"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/05\/27\/merits-of-termination-of-contract-must-essentially-be-determined-by-arbitral-tribunal-delhi-hc-legal-news\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Invocation of power of Judicial review in proceedings under S. 9 of Arbitration Act would run afoul to principle that merits of termination of contract must essentially be determined by Arbitral Tribunal: Delhi HC"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/","name":"SCC Times","description":"Bringing you the Best Analytical Legal News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/84e42bab48238baf12c7e33b3d9761fe","name":"Editor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/34e366be721c41333586de05faa13743195f5b142dcd7a015c6fabd2389521d0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/34e366be721c41333586de05faa13743195f5b142dcd7a015c6fabd2389521d0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Editor"},"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/author\/editor_4\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/delhi-high-court.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":330056,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2024\/09\/04\/delhi-hc-appoints-sole-arbitrator-in-petition-against-national-highway-and-infrastructure-development-corporation-ltd\/","url_meta":{"origin":293238,"position":0},"title":"Delhi High Court appoints Sole Arbitrator in petition against the National Highway and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd.","author":"Editor","date":"September 4, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"As per Clause 26.2 of the Agreement, the Chairman\/Managing Director of the Board of Directors of Contractors was supposed to do the conciliation and not the committee constituted by NHIDCL.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Case Briefs&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Delhi High Court","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Delhi-High-Court.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Delhi-High-Court.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Delhi-High-Court.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Delhi-High-Court.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":294793,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/06\/16\/delhi-hc-sets-aside-arbitral-award-by-arbitrator-de-jure-inability-legal-updates\/","url_meta":{"origin":293238,"position":1},"title":"Delhi High Court sets aside arbitral award passed by Arbitrator having de jure inability to pass the award","author":"Arunima","date":"June 16, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The ineligibility of an Arbitrator goes to the root of his jurisdiction and the Arbitral Award cannot be considered as valid.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Case Briefs&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"delhi high court","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/delhi-high-court.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/delhi-high-court.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/delhi-high-court.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/delhi-high-court.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":352527,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/07\/05\/del-hc-whatsapp-email-exchange-valid-arbitration-agreement\/","url_meta":{"origin":293238,"position":2},"title":"Delhi High Court: WhatsApp and Email Exchanges May Constitute Arbitration Agreement if Statutory Conditions Are Met","author":"Editor","date":"July 5, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Court noted that under Section 7(4)(b) of the Arbitration Act it is not necessary to conclude a contract for the arbitration agreement contained within it to be valid. The arbitration agreement must form a part of documents\/communication exchange between the parties.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Case Briefs&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"WhatsApp valid arbitration agreement","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-10-2.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-10-2.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-10-2.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-10-2.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":323372,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2024\/06\/01\/will-arbitration-proceedings-survive-if-mandate-of-arbitrator-is-terminated-dhc-answers-legal-news\/","url_meta":{"origin":293238,"position":3},"title":"Will arbitration proceedings survive if mandate of arbitrator is terminated? Delhi HC answers","author":"Editor","date":"June 1, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cThe arbitral proceedings in the matter were not terminated but the Arbitrator had been non-responsive and was unable to perform his functions. Thus, as per Sections 14 and 15 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, the present case is suited for appointment of a substitute Arbitrator for adjudicating the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Case Briefs&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Delhi High Court","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Delhi-High-Court.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Delhi-High-Court.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Delhi-High-Court.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Delhi-High-Court.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":373403,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/01\/21\/del-hc-refuses-relief-against-irctcs-termination-of-catering-contract\/","url_meta":{"origin":293238,"position":4},"title":"Delhi HC refuses interim relief against IRCTC&#8217;s termination of catering contract; cites multiple passenger complaints and unsatisfactory service","author":"Prarthana Gupta","date":"January 21, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cThere are multiple complaints of over-charging, service quality, hygiene, food quality, etc. against the appellant, which presents a troubling state of affairs as regards the on-board catering services being offered by the appellant on the subject train.\u201d","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Case Briefs&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"relief against IRCTC's termination of catering contract","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/relief-against-IRCTCs-termination-of-catering-contract.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/relief-against-IRCTCs-termination-of-catering-contract.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/relief-against-IRCTCs-termination-of-catering-contract.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/relief-against-IRCTCs-termination-of-catering-contract.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":299429,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/08\/16\/unambiguous-intent-required-for-incorporation-arbitration-clause-by-reference-calcutta-hc\/","url_meta":{"origin":293238,"position":5},"title":"Unambiguous intent required for incorporating Arbitration Clause by reference under Section 7(5) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996: Calcutta High Court","author":"Ritu","date":"August 16, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"In the instant matter, the primary issue was the incorporation of arbitration clauses from the Master Facility Agreement and Settlement Agreement and the maintainability of a composite reference.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Case Briefs&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"calcutta high court","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/calcutta-high-court.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/calcutta-high-court.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/calcutta-high-court.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/calcutta-high-court.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67011"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293238\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/290500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}