In Brief
Venture Global Engineering sued to set aside a 2006 arbitral award requiring it to transfer 50% shares in a joint venture company to Satyam Computer Services at book value. The arbitrator had found Venture in default due to affiliates' bankruptcies. In 2009, Satyam's Chairman confessed to manipulating company accounts for years, inflating profits by ₹7,080 crores. A two-judge Supreme Court bench split: Justice Sapre held the award was vitiated by fraud and suppression of material facts, violating public policy; Justice Chelameswar disagreed, finding the fraud allegations unproven and lacking causative link to the arbitration. The judgment was referred to a larger bench, with the majority (Justice Sapre) setting aside the award on public policy grounds.
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