Only Parties To Arbitration Proceedings Can Challenge An Arbitral Award: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court observed that only parties to arbitration proceedings can file a petition challenging arbitration award under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.
The Court was considering a petition filed under Section 34 of A&C Act, challenging the award passed by the Sole Arbitrator.
A Single Bench of Justice Prathiba M. Singh observed: "the Petitioner, not having been a party to the arbitral proceedings, would not have locus to file a petition under Section 34 of the 1996 Act."
Advocate Hrishikesh Chitaley appeared on behalf of the petitioner while Senior Advocate Gopal Jain appeared on behalf of the respondent.
In this case, the respondent company i.e., Jindal Steel & Power Ltd. had filed a complaint in terms of the .IN Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (INDRP) and the INDRP Rules of Procedure, being adopted by NIXI. The dispute between the said respondent company and Nspire Solutions was related to the domain name ‘jsplsteel.in’. Hence, the respondent filed a complaint against the said domain name. Upon a complaint being received by NIXI which administers INDRP in India, a notice was issued by NIXI to the Registrant i.e., Nspire Solutions.
A reply was also received from Nspire and the matter was heard by the Sole Arbitrator. Though the reply was belated, the Arbitrator took into consideration the stand raised in the reply. Finally, the Arbitrator directed the transfer of domain name to the complainant i.e., the respondent. Such award was challenged before the High Court under Section 34 of A&C Act.
The High Court in view of the above facts noted, “At the time of filing of the complaint itself, the Complainant has to choose the jurisdictional country/Court for any challenge emanating from a decision rendered by the UDRP panel. Apart from the above four players, any other person whose beneficial interest may be involved in domain name, would not be a relevant party in a UDRP complaint proceeding.”
The court referred to the judgment in the case of Mukesh Nanji Gala & Ors. v. M/s. Heritage Enterprises, Mumbai and Anr. [(2015) 5 Mah LJ 620], in which the Bombay High Court held that A&C Act and its scheme make it clear that only parties to an arbitration agreement can exercise rights and invoke arbitration for dispute adjudication, not outsiders. It observed that Section 34 of the Act allows only parties to the arbitration agreement to challenge an arbitral award. Moreover, the Court said that outsiders cannot challenge an award under Section 34 unless they are wrongly impleaded and aggrieved by the award and the grounds for challenge under Section 34, and other relevant provisions are not available to those who are not parties to the arbitration agreement or proceedings.
Accordingly, the Court disposed of the petition.
Cause Title- Mukesh Udeshi v. Jindal Steel Power Ltd. (Neutral Citation: 2024:DHC:4886)
Appearance:
Petitioner: Advocate Hrishikesh Chitaley
Respondent: Senior Advocate Gopal Jain, Advocates Gauri Rasgotra, B. Arutsivan, Sharad Kumar Sunny, Priyashree Sharma PH, Shruti Joshi, Aniket Kumar Singh, Gunav Gujral, Keshav Mann, and Ajay Gupta.
