In Brief
Hindustan Construction Company and other construction contractors challenged Section 87 of the Arbitration Act, 1996, which revived automatic-stay of arbitral awards pending court challenges, and various provisions of the Insolvency Code. The Supreme Court struck down Section 87 as manifestly arbitrary, holding that the original Section 36 never mandated automatic-stay. Earlier judgments establishing automatic-stay were per incuriam. The 2015 Amendment Act's beneficial reforms apply to all post-October 2015 court proceedings. The Court overruled prior precedents and rejected challenges to the Insolvency Code as contractual disputes render debts 'disputed' and outside its scope.
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