Arbitration and Counciliation

In Gayatri Balasamy v. M/s ISG Novasoft Technologies Limited, a five-judge Bench of the Supreme Court of India ruled that courts possess a limited, functional power to modify arbitral awards under Sections 34 and 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, by partially overruling its previous stance in NHAI v. M. Hakeem.

In the issue whether the Principal District Court can modify arbitral awards under Section 34 & Section 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (AC Act) the five member Constitutional Bench  in Gayatri Balasamy v M/S Isg Novasoft Technologies Limited [2025 INSC 605] decided that under the Sections 34 & 37, the Principal District Court has no power to modify the award.