- within Litigation and Mediation & Arbitration topic(s)
- in United States
- with readers working within the Law Firm industries
- within Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration, Criminal Law, Media, Telecoms, IT and Entertainment topic(s)
The Supreme Court, through its judgement dated 24.04.2026 in the matter of Home Care Retail Marts Private Limited v Haresh N. Sanghavi1(/sup held that any party to an arbitration agreement, including an unsuccessful party in arbitration, may invoke Section 9 of the A&C Act at the post-award stage.
The court observed that the expression ‘a party’ in Section 9 of the A&C Act, means ‘any party’ to the arbitration agreement and such interpretation cannot be restricted only to the successful party. It was stated that where a court declines to entertain an application under Section 9 A&C Act on the grounds that such party is unsuccessful party, there would be no forum available for protection of the subject matter, even where the award under challenge is stayed and potentially liable to be set aside.
The court observed that the threshold for grant of interim relief under Section 9 of the A&C Act will be higher in the case where an unsuccessful party in arbitration has sought such relief. Further, it was noted that in rare and compelling cases, permitting the unsuccessful party to invoke Section 9 of the A&C Act would prevent irreparable prejudice and preserve the efficacy of the challenge.
Footnote
1. 2026 INSC 415.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
