Published on: 15 August 2023 at 11:31 IST
Court: Supreme Court
Citation: NTPC Ltd. V. SPML Infra Ltd. (2023)
Honourable Supreme Court of India has held that Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 is a pre-referral jurisdiction of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India and High Courts to the Arbitration tribunal. It is held that the Hon’ble Courts has to examine
- Existence and the validity of an arbitration agreement, which also includes an inquiry as to the parties to the agreement and the applicant’s privity to the said agreement.
- Issue of arbitrability of a dispute and must prima facie examine the credibility of the allegations before referring the parties to arbitration.
25. Eye of the Needle: The above-referred precedents crystallise the position of law that the pre-referral jurisdiction of the courts under Section 11(6) of the Act is very narrow and inheres two inquiries. The primary inquiry is about the existence and the validity of an arbitration agreement, which also includes an inquiry as to the parties to the agreement and the applicant’s privity to the said agreement. These are matters which require a thorough examination by the referral court. The secondary inquiry that may arise at the reference stage itself is with respect to the non-arbitrability of the dispute.
Drafted By Abhijit Mishra
