Arbitrator’s non-Disclosure and interim relief in foreign-seated arbitration (Engineering Projects (India) Ltd V MSA Global LLC (Oman))
Arbitration analysis: The Delhi High Court has recently granted an anti-arbitration injunction in Engineering Projects (India) Ltd v MSA Global LLC (Oman), staying the ongoing ICC proceedings seated in Singapore on account of the arbitrator’s non-disclosure of a prior appointment by the opposing party’s chairman. Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, a learned Single Judge of the Court, held that such non-disclosure, struck at the root of party consent and procedural fairness. The learned Single Judge held the arbitral proceedings as being prima facie vexatious and oppressive, and thus injuncted the said proceedings. This landmark decision takes a divergent view from previous decisions of the court, which traditionally followed a ‘hands off’ approach particularly in foreign seated arbitrations. It sets a potentially dangerous precedent where an Indian Court may interfere in the arbitral process notwithstanding the fact that the parties have chosen a seat outside India, particularly in cases where procedural fairness is involved. Written by Saurabh Seth, founder at Chambers of Saurabh Seth.