India—Delhi High Court revisits the law on granting interim relief to non-signatories in arbitration (Blue Coast Infrastructure Development v Blue Coast Hotels)

Table of contents

• What are the practical implications of this decision?
• What was the background to this decision?
• What did the court decide?
• Commentary on the decision

Article summary

Arbitration analysis: The Delhi High Court refused to grant interim relief under section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (ACA 1996) against a non-signatory to the arbitration agreement on the facts and circumstances of the case. However, the Delhi High Court held that it was possible to award interim relief against a non-signatory in certain circumstances. For instance, the property of a third party holding property on behalf of a party to the arbitration may be attached pursuant to ACA 1996, s 9. Vyapak Desai, partner and head of the International Dispute Resolution and Investigations Team at Nishith Desai and Bhavana Sunder, member of the team, discuss this decision.