FIRST LAW

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA | Abhay Manohar Sapre & Indu Malhotra, JJ. C.A. Nos. 6202 - ­6205 of 2019 (Arising out of SLP (Civil) No. 13573­13576 of 2014) August 08, 2019 Arbitration - Doctrine of ‘Group of Companies’ - the doctrine “Group of Companies” has its application to arbitral proceedings and, in appropriate cases, it can be so applied. A non-­signatory can be bound by an arbitration agreement on the basis of the “Group of Companies” doctrine, where the conduct of the parties evidences a clear intention of the parties to bind both the signatory as well as the non-signatory parties. The doctrine of ‘Group of Companies’ had its origins in the 1970’s from French arbitration practice. The ‘Group of Companies’ doctrine indicates the implied consent to an agreement to arbitrate, in the context of modern multi­party business transactions. The ‘Group of Companies’ doctrine has been invoked by courts and tribunals in arbitrations, where an arbitration agr...

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday, 15 January 2019 in S. Dinesh Babu v. C. Venugopalan   has held that "in the name of equity, the arbitrator shall not disregard the law and take decisions on notions of fairness and good conscience, unless expressly authorised by the parties to do so."