In a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court has said that international commericial arbitration proceedings, conducted outside the country, cannot be heard and decided by the Indian courts. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia passed the verdict overturning earlier verdicts by the apex court.
The verdict comes as big blow to petitioners including some PSUs , who, in a batch of eight petitions, made a strong pitch for legal sanction to bringing arbitration proceedings abroad under the judicial scrutiny of Indian courts. The apex court outlined the scope and powers that can be exercised by a court in the country under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act to deal with arbitral proceedings held outside India.