In Brief
Union of India challenged a High Court order dismissing its application under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, questioning an arbitral award in an international commercial dispute. The High Court held Indian courts lacked jurisdiction to examine the award. The Supreme Court found the core issue—determining the 'seat' of arbitration when the agreement specifies only 'venue'—involved complex questions about arbitration law requiring authoritative guidance. The Court referred the matter to a larger Bench rather than deciding it summarily, as the issues frequently arise in international commercial arbitration and prior Benches of varying strengths had taken different approaches.
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