In Brief
The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai challenged a High Court Division Bench order that allowed an appeal under Section 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The issue centred on whether the High Court could recall its own order appointing an arbitrator when no valid arbitration agreement existed between the parties. The Supreme Court held that High Courts, as courts of record under Article 215 of the Constitution, possess inherent jurisdiction to recall their own orders to prevent miscarriage of justice. Finding no valid arbitration agreement in the contract (Clauses 13 and 22 were in-house dispute procedures, not arbitration clauses), the Court set aside the Division Bench judgment and allowed the appeal.
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