In Brief
NBCC, a government construction company, awarded a contract to Zillion Infraprojects for constructing a weir on the basis of a Letter of Intent (LOI) dated 4 December 2006. The LOI made general reference to tender terms that contained an arbitration clause but expressly stated disputes would be resolved only through civil courts in Delhi. When disputes arose, Zillion sought arbitration under the tender's arbitration clause. The Supreme Court held that a general reference to another contract's terms does not automatically incorporate its arbitration clause. Since the LOI explicitly stipulated civil court jurisdiction alone, the arbitration clause was not incorporated. The Court allowed the appeal and quashed the High Court's order appointing an arbitrator.
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