In Brief
A real estate company sought review of Supreme Court's dismissal of its civil appeals challenging NCDRC's rejection of its application to refer a consumer dispute to arbitration. The consumer had filed a complaint seeking possession of a villa and refund of excess payments. Although a valid arbitration clause existed in the builder's agreement, the NCDRC held consumer disputes non-arbitrable. The Supreme Court upheld this, holding that consumer protection is a special statutory remedy that operates independently despite the 2015 amendment to the Arbitration Act. The Court clarified that amendments minimizing judicial discretion over arbitration validity do not override other laws protecting non-arbitrable disputes. Review dismissed.
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