In Brief
In this civil appeal, the Supreme Court clarified the scope of Section 27(5) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, which allows courts to punish contempt of orders passed by arbitral tribunals. The Bombay High Court had restrictively interpreted the section as applying only to contempt related to taking evidence. The Supreme Court held that Section 27(5), read literally, empowers courts to punish for any contempt of the tribunal during arbitral proceedings. Interim orders under Section 17 must be enforceable through contempt proceedings; otherwise, they become meaningless and parties would bypass the tribunal for interim relief. The appeal was allowed and the matter remanded for the High Court to decide the contempt matter on its facts.
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