Dispute Resolution

The Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC), provides a time-bound mechanism for resolving corporate insolvency in India. This guide explains the different routes available for initiating CIRP, the filing requirements, and the post-admission process. Who Can File a CIRP Application? CIRP can be initiated by three categories of applicants. A financial creditor, such as a bank, NBFC, or bondholder, may file under Secti

When a contract with an arbitration clause breaks down, the first formal step is usually to send an arbitration notice. Knowing how to send an arbitration notice in India under Section 21 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 matters because, in most cases, arbitration proceedings legally commence only when the other side receives this notice. A defective or missing notice can delay or even derail the entire dispute. Why the Section 21 Notice Matters Section 21 of the

The Madras High Court has halted certain project works of Yuzhan Technology India, a subsidiary of Foxconn, amid a contract dispute with BNR Infrastructure Projects. The Court directed that the respondent cannot claim to continue work either by itself or through any third parties until June 29, 2026. The order was passed under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, following BNR's application seeking interim injunctive relief. Background of the Dispute BNR Infrastructure

The Bombay High Court has upheld an arbitration award of more than $24 million against Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) in favour of Malaysian contractor Sapura, ruling that an international commercial arbitration award cannot be set aside on the ground of patent illegality. In Oil and Natural Gas Corp Ltd v. Sapura Fabrication SDN BHD, Justice Sandeep Marne dismissed ONGC's challenge under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, even while acknowledgi

The Bombay High Court, in Oil Field Instrumentation India Pvt. Ltd. v. Xcalibur Multiphysics Group S.L. (Commercial Arbitration Petition (L) No. 16156 of 2026), has set aside an arbitral tribunal's interim measures order under Section 17 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, holding that commercial confidentiality provisions in a contract cannot be used as a shield to resist court-ordered disclosure. Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan directed Xcalibur to disclose its con

The Supreme Court has referred the long-running defamation dispute between two senior Karnataka officers, IAS officer Rohini Sindhuri and IPS officer D Roopa Moudgil, to mediation, observing that continued litigation was harming both their careers. A Bench of Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva took the view that the matter could be resolved amicably rather than through prolonged court proceedings, and appointed former Supreme Court judge Justice Kurian

An arbitral award can be set aside where an extreme and unexplained delay in pronouncing it results in an award that is unworkable and fails to resolve the dispute, the Supreme Court held in Lancor Holdings Limited v. Prem Kumar Menon and Others, reported as 2025 INSC 1277 and decided on 31 October 2025. The ruling is one of the more important recent statements on how delay affects the validity of an arbitral award under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, and it carr

The Rajasthan State Legal Services Authority inaugurated the Jaipur Arbitration and Mediation Centre at Vidhik Seva Sadan, Jaipur, on May 10, 2026. The Centre was inaugurated by Justice Sandeep Mehta, Judge of the Supreme Court of India. This dedicated facility is designed to strengthen the alternative dispute resolution infrastructure in Rajasthan by providing a professional venue for arbitration proceedings, court-annexed mediation, and hybrid dispute resolution processes.

In a politically charged order that could shape the future of the Tamil Nadu government, the Madras High Court on May 12, 2026 restrained Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) MLA R. Seenivasa Sethupathi from participating in any floor motion in the 17th Legislative Assembly, including the crucial confidence motion. The interim order, passed by a vacation bench of Justice L. Victoria Gowri and Justice N. Senthilkumar, arises from allegations of postal ballot irregularities in a cons

The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) has announced that the 2nd National Lok Adalat of 2026, conducted across the country on 9 May 2026, facilitated the amicable settlement of 2,07,66,548 cases with an overall settlement amount of Rs 3,440.81 crores. The Lok Adalat was held under the leadership of Justice Surya Kant, Patron-in-Chief of NALSA, and Justice Vikram Nath, Executive Chairman of NALSA. Breakdown of Cases Settled Of the total cases settled, 1,87,63,883 were

The Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, has issued comprehensive guidelines for arbitration and mediation in contracts of domestic public procurement. These guidelines, applicable to all central government ministries, departments, and their attached or subordinate offices, mandate the inclusion of structured dispute resolution clauses in government contracts and establish a framework for resolving disputes through arbitration and mediation before resorting to liti

A fundamental question in Indian real estate law remains unresolved: can disputes between homebuyers and developers be referred to arbitration, or does the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA) create an exclusive jurisdiction that bars arbitration? High Courts across India have taken conflicting positions on this issue. The Bombay High Court has held that disputes under Sections 12 and 18 of RERA are non-arbitrable, while the Gauhati High Court has held t

In one of the largest GST disputes to come before an Indian High Court in recent years, the Madras High Court has ordered a pre-deposit of approximately Rs 241 crore in a classification dispute involving catalysts, with the total tax demand exceeding Rs 4,500 crore. The case raises fundamental questions about the classification of industrial catalysts under the GST tariff, the interface between chemical and industrial product classifications, and the scale of revenue at stake

India's Lok Adalat system provides a statutory alternative dispute resolution mechanism through which pending court cases and pre-litigation disputes can be settled amicably, without the formality and delay of ordinary trial proceedings. On 14 March 2026, the 1st National Lok Adalat of 2026 resolved approximately 2.84 crore cases with a combined settlement value of Rs 10,920.47 crore, underscoring the continuing scale and relevance of this system in reducing India's massive c

India enacted the Mediation Act, 2023 (No. 32 of 2023), receiving Presidential assent on 14 September 2023, marking a watershed moment in the country's alternative dispute resolution landscape. For decades, mediation in India operated without a dedicated statutory framework — parties relied on the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 or court-annexed mediation under the Code of Civil Procedure. The Mediation Act, 2023 changes this entirely by establishing mediation as a sta