The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear Reliance Power-owned Sasan Power Ltd’s appeal challenging the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s order that upheld arbitration agreement mandating the two Indian companies to take recourse to a foreign-seated arbitration with foreign substantive law.
The issue raised before a bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi is whether arbitration proceedings between two Indian entities can be seated in a foreign country. The bench has posted the matter for further hearing on January 19.
The HC on September 11 held that the two Indian parties may conduct arbitration in London and under English law, a stand opposed by Reliance Power-led Ultra Mega Poper Project.
Senior counsel Fali Nariman and counsel Mahesh Agarwal, appearing for Sasan Power, argued that the arbitration Act “leaves no doubt that a domestic arbitration between two Indian parties can only be governed by Indian substantive laws”.