Yes! Long-time India observers will remember the 2012 decision of the Indian Supreme Court in Bharat Aluminium which decided that Indian courts could not grant interim relief under Section 9 of the Indian Arbitration Act 1996. However, this was fixed by the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act 2015, which legislated that Section 9 would now apply by default to foreign-seated arbitrations unless the parties contract out of it.
Can Indian courts grant "Section 9" interim relief in support of foreign-seated arbitration?
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Is it worth seeking EA relief if I need a decision binding third parties?
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Yes, sometimes. Arbitral tribunals (including EAs) are unable to issue binding decisions against third parties. This particularly limits the utility of EA in infrastructure and shareholder disputes where interim measures (such as encashing a bank bond or enforcing shareholder rights pending arbitration) are commonplace.
However, an EA order may make a third party reluctant to act, and may be an efficient way of getting court relief. Even where the EA decision cannot be enforced directly, it should be a much more straightforward process to obtain Section 9 interim relief in the Indian courts if an EA decision has already been issued.
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