In Brief
The Supreme Court held that Letters Patent Appeals are maintainable before the Division Bench of the High Court against orders passed by a Single Judge on the original side in international arbitration enforcement cases. Although Maharashtra's 1986 Act abolished Letters Patent Appeals, Section 50(1)(b) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 expressly provides for appeals in arbitration matters. Reading Sections 5 and 13 of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 together with Section 50 of the 1996 Act, the Court concluded that such appeals can proceed as Letters Patent Appeals but must be treated and adjudicated as appeals under Section 50(1)(b) of the 1996 Act. The Court affirmed the High Court's decision allowing the appeal to proceed.
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