Judge’s gut instinct often drives arbitral award challenges: Justice Prathiba M Singh

Delhi High Court Justice Prathiba M Singh recently reflected on the approach of courts in cases challenging arbitral awards, stating that judges often develop an instinctive understanding of whether intervention is warranted or not.

Justice Singh was speaking at the 16th Annual International Conference of the Nani Palkhivala Arbitration Centre (NPAC), held in New Delhi on September 5–6, where she chaired the opening technical session on modification of arbitral awards.

“As judges, when we get a challenge to an award and read it, we know as a gut feeling whether we want to interfere or not. When we want to interfere, we will find a ground to interfere. It is a question of what the court’s gut feeling is about,” Justice Singh remarked.

Justice Singh noted that a large proportion of arbitration-related litigation in India arises under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.

“Ninety per cent of the cases we get pertain to domestic arbitration. A large quantum of this filing is Section 34 challenges to arbitral awards. As judges, I must say, instead of setting aside the award in full, end the dispute then and there,” the judge said.

She emphasised on transparency in arbitration, calling for a data repository on domestic arbitration to help build confidence among Indian litigants.

Delivering the welcome address, Senior Advocate and Director at NPAC Arvind P Datar recalled how the Centre was set up 20 years ago and the risks taken by its founders.

“Today is the 20th anniversary of the Centre. As I go down the corridors of time, we started the Centre and we were told we would require ₹40 lakh to set up a Centre. We obtained a loan from Federal Bank and the directors of NPAC decided to give a personal guarantee. The Chairman of the bank said you are starting a Centre in the name of Nani Palkhivala, you won’t default. We went from strength to strength,” he said.

Datar also remembered the stalwarts who lent their support.

“I miss Mr Sorabjee and Mr Iqbal Chagla. Despite their busy commitments, they would come down to Chennai and ask us what we are doing. We have Justice Venkatachaliah and Senior Advocate KK Venugopal. At 93, Justice Venkatachaliah still asks me what I am doing at NPAC,” Datar said.

Senior Advocate Gaurav Pachnanda followed with the presentation of the conference’s concept note.

The inaugural keynote was delivered by Justice Philip Jeyaretnam, President of the Singapore International Commercial Court. He identified three measures to improve the quality of arbitration - publication of awards, greater transparency in the identification of arbitrators and adoption of technology in case management.

Justice Jeyaretnam highlighted Singapore’s development of an online case management system akin to Harvey AI and the availability of the “Pair Search” tool. However, he cautioned against uncritical adoption of such tools.

“Without due care, introduction of AI may diminish transparency and accountability,” he said.

The inaugural session on Modification of Arbitration Awards: An International Perspective featured Nicholas Lingard (Freshfields, Singapore); Rebecca James (Linklaters, Singapore & UK); Aditya Singh (White & Case, Singapore) and KV Krishnaprasad (One Essex Court, UK).

James explained that “remission is curative in nature” while “variation is more about the court stepping in.” Lingard reflected on Singapore’s minimal intervention approach, where awards are either set aside in whole or in part. Krishnaprasad highlighted the cumulative nature of English statutory grounds and suggested that India could benefit from codification.

Advocate Payal Chawla, Founder of law firm Jus Contractus and Director at NPAC, delivered the vote of thanks for the inaugural session.

The second technical session focused on the English Arbitration Act 2025 and its implications for India.

Chaired by Sherina Petit (Stewarts Law, UK), the panel included James Howells KC (Atkin Chambers, UK); James Collins (Candey, UK); Phillip D’Costa (Penningtons Manches Cooper, UK) and Shruti Raina (Panag & Babu, India).

The discussion examined how the new Act reshaped arbitration practice in England and whether similar reforms could strengthen procedural clarity and transparency in India.

Sidhant Goel, Senior Partner and Sim & San, delivered NPAC's "March of Law" presentation that encapsulated all the goings-on in arbitration over the last one year.

The post-lunch session on Evidence in the Age of Generative AI was chaired by Pallavi Shroff, Managing Partner of Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas. Other panelists included Mark McNeill (Quinn Emanuel, US); Mahesh Rai (Drew & Napier, Singapore); Smitha Menon (Wong Partnership, Singapore) and Mohit Abraham (Peak XV Partners, India).

Speakers explored how AI-driven tools are transforming discovery, document review and cross-examination. They debated on whether arbitral institutions and courts are ready to handle questions of reliability and admissibility.

The final session addressed Enforcement of Standard Form Contracts: Navigating Legal Complexities and Balancing Commercial Considerations. Chaired by Binsy Susan (Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas), the panel featured Lopamudra Rao (Meesho), Ritesh Khosla (Sony Pictures), Siddharth Sharma (Tata Sons) and Blossom Hing SC (Drew & Napier, Singapore).