In Brief
ONGC terminated a contract with Deep Industries for supply of equipment, alleging defective goods, and subsequently blacklisted the vendor for two years. Deep Industries invoked arbitration, and the arbitrator dismissed a jurisdictional challenge and granted interim relief staying the blacklist order. The City Civil Court upheld this. The High Court set aside the order, finding the arbitrator lacked jurisdiction. Held: The High Court erred. Under the Arbitration Act, 1996, Article 227 jurisdiction is limited to patent jurisdictional errors. The statutory scheme mandates speedy disposal with minimal judicial intervention. The arbitrator properly decided the Section 16 application on jurisdiction; the High Court's re-examination inverted the statutory framework. The appeal is allowed, and arbitration must proceed expeditiously.",
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