Arbitration plea not piecemeal

•  M J Antony / New Delhi

The Supreme Court last week ruled that an arbitration petition cannot be dealt with piecemeal by a high court, and it should be considered in its entirety. In this case, Hindustan Copper Ltd vs Monarch Gold Mining Ltd, one judge of the Calcutta high court ruled that disputes have arisen for arbitration. He then referred the issues to the Chief Justice for appointment of an arbitrator. The chief justice then designated another judge to nominate the arbitrator. The high court had followed this method adopted in an earlier case. This procedure was challenged by Hindustan Copper in the Supreme Court. It held that the procedure followed by the high court was “legally impermissible”. The function of the chief justice or his designate is judicial and they should deal with it in its entirety by one of them and “not by both making it a two-tier procedure”. The high court precedent which was followed by it in this case was overruled on this legal issue.

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/arbitration-plea-not-piecemeal-sc/489598/