P&A Law Offices Secures Win For HPCL Before The Bombay High Court In a Section 34 Petition

P&A Law Offices secures a win for HPCL before the Bombay High Court in a Section 34 Petition.

The prominent multi-practice Indian law firm, P&A Law Offices achieved a significant victory for Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (“HPCL”) before the Bombay High Court (BHC) in an arbitration matter. The firm represented HPCL against Om Constraction in a petition seeking to set aside an Arbitral Award, which had held that HPCL’s termination of a civil works contract was illegal and directed HPCL to pay claims exceeding INR 20 crores.

Under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, HPCL challenged the Arbitral Award primarily on four counts before the BHC:

• (a) Fraud and misrepresentation committed by the Respondent and illegally inducing HPCL to enter into the contract (including the Arbitration Agreement);
• (b) The claims of the Respondent for damages were granted without the Respondent leading any evidence;
• (c) Procedural impropriety by the Arbitral Tribunal; and
• (d) The Arbitral Tribunal proceeded in a biased manner against HPCL.

The BHC ruled in favour of HPCL and set aside the Arbitral Award, inter alia, holding that suppression of ongoing insolvency proceedings and false declaration regarding a member of the joint venture party goes to the root of the validity of the contract and vitiates the Arbitral proceedings. The Court examined serious issues relating to suppression of material facts, jurisdictional objections, and the validity of the arbitral proceedings, reaffirming the limits of arbitral authority and the importance of procedural fairness. The BHC further observed that the Arbitral Tribunal followed an unusual process of adjudication, which is unknown to law.

HPCL’s representation was led by Mr. Zubin Behramkamdin (Senior Advocate) and Mr. Vijay Purohit (Partner), assisted by Mr. Pratik Jhaveri (Principal Associate) and Mr. Samkit Jain (Senior Associate).

This ruling reinforces HPCL’s contractual rights and highlights P&A Law Offices’ expertise in handling complex arbitration disputes, ensuring procedural fairness, and safeguarding client interests in high-value matters.

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