In Brief
The Supreme Court held that an arbitral tribunal has the authority to implead non-signatories to an arbitration agreement as parties to proceedings on its own accord. The tribunal's power to determine whether a non-signatory is bound by an arbitration agreement falls within its jurisdictional competence under Section 16. The determination of a non-signatory's binding nature is a separate enquiry from the formal existence of the arbitration agreement and is not restricted to referral courts. The tribunal may apply doctrines like 'group of companies' to bind non-signatories based on mutual intent, conduct, and factual circumstances. Absence of notice under Section 21 does not nullify the tribunal's jurisdiction to implead parties. The legal basis for such power derives from Sections 2(1)(h) and 7 of the Act, 1996, which apply to both courts and tribunals. The power is necessary to effectuate the Act's purpose of providing effective alternative dispute resolution in complex multi-party transactions.
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.