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FACTS- A share purchase agreement was signed by Tata Sons Private Limited, Tata Tele Services Limited (TTSL), and NTT Docomo Inc. (“Docomo”), under which Docomo purchased some equity interests of TTSL from Siva Industries and Holding Ltd. A shareholders’ agreement (“SHA”) between the Applicant, TTSL, and Docomo set forth the rights, liabilities, and responsibilities of Docomo’s ownership of the shares of TTSL. The Respondents agreed to purchase TTSL’s shares on a pro rata basis in the event Docomo exercised its sale option under the SHA after the Applicant, TTSL, and Siva Industries executed an inter se agreement (the “Inter se agreement”), along with C. Sivasankaran, a foreign resident, promoter, and guarantor of Siva Industries. In accordance with the SHA, disputes occurred between Docomo and the Applicant, and the matter was referred to arbitration. In this arbitration, a decision was made ordering the applicant, among other things, to purchase Docomo’s stake in TTSL.
ISSUES- In this case, the Supreme Court had to decide on the following two issues: 1) Whether the time limit for passing an award as per the amended Section 29A of Arbitration Act will be applicable to ‘international commercial arbitration’. 2) Can the amended Section 29A of Arbitration Act be applied retrospectively.
RATIO– The Supreme Court ruled that the 12-month deadline for announcing an award set forth in Section 29A only applies to domestic arbitrations and not to international commercial arbitrations. The Court further determined that the caveat to Section 29A(1)’s requirement that awards be made within 12 months of the date that the pleadings were completed is not necessary.
By issuing this ruling, the Supreme Court has limited the scope of the time limit under the revised Section 29A of the Arbitration Act to domestic arbitrations while excluding the application of the time limit to international commercial arbitrations. This ruling implies that it limits the courts’ ability to intervene in international commercial arbitration in relation to any extension of deadlines. Additionally, this decision frees international arbitral institutions from being constrained by the statutory time restrictions and permits them to use their own independent mechanisms to keep track of deadlines and swiftly wrap up arbitration processes without the need for court intervention.
We are a law firm in the name and style of Law Offices of Kr. Vivek Tanwar Advocate and Associates at Gurugram and Rewari. We are providing litigation support services for matters related to Arbitration Law.
Written By- Adv. Vartika Chahal
Hi there just wanted to give you a quick heads up and let you know a few of the images aren’t loading correctly. I’m not sure why but I think its a linking issue. I’ve tried it in two different web browsers and both show the same outcome.