Striking The Balance: Patent Illegality And Minimal Judicial Interference Under The Indian Arbitration Jurisprudence
- IJLLR Journal
- Jun 12
- 1 min read
Sohom Nandi, Lecturer of Law at Sister Nivedita University, Kolkata
ABSTRACT
The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 renders certain exhaustive grounds for extinguishing an arbitral award.1 The rationale was not to lay down expansive grounds for extinguishing an arbitral award as it would ultimately amount to higher interference of the judicial authorities nullifying the aim of the 1996 Act. ‘Patent illegality’ wasn’t one of the defences at hand pursuant to Section 34 for extinguishing an arbitral award until 2003, when it was brought within the realm of the ‘public policy’ shield as stipulated by Section 34(2)(b)(ii) of the 1996 Act by way of a momentous judicial decision by the Hon’ble Apex Court.2 Finally, the defence of patent illegality to terminate an arbitral award gained legislative acknowledgement by way of the 2015 amendment which incorporated clause (2A) under Sec 34.3 In this specific article, the author talks through the birth of the defence of patent illegality for extinguishing an arbitral award as well as the advancement and progress of the same with the aid of numerous notable judicial decisions and legislative materials. Finally, the article seeks to examine the possibility of increasing judicial intervention due to the employment of the ground of patent illegality for setting aside an arbitral award.
Keywords: Patent Illegality, Arbitral Award, Judicial interference, Public Policy.
