ELP Arbitration Weekly Update

In this week’s update, we take a look at the judgment of the Delhi High Court (“Court”) in Parasramka Holdings Pvt. Ltd. & Ors. v. Ambience Private Ltd. & Anr. (2018 SCC Online Del 6573), wherein the Court was called upon to examine the effect of the amended Section 8(1) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.

The Court examined the pre-amendment precedents which laid down that as long as the written statement contained a preliminary objection concerning the existence of an arbitration agreement, the court ought to refer the parties to arbitration. Noting that such a position had remained unaltered by the amendment, the Court was pleased to refer the parties to arbitration.

However, the Court also made certain observations regarding the change in language of Section 8(1), whereby it appears to have effectively relaxed the time limit for filing a Section 8 application, and it may no longer necessary to file the same concurrently or prior to filing of the written statement, as long as the application is filed within the prescribed limitation period of filing the written statement.

We trust you will find this an interesting read. For any queries or comments on this update, please feel free to contact us at drupdate@elp-in.com.

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