India: Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration

In a landmark judgment delivered on 31.10.2025, the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India has fortified the bedrock principle of attorney-client privilege while delineating clear boundaries for investigative agencies seeking to summon advocates.

The rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence tools has generated pressing questions regarding the continued integrity of legal professional privilege.

International arbitration operates in an ethical gray zone when confronted with illegally obtained evidence. This paper examines whether arbitral tribunals possess the authority...

Most foreign companies spend months deciding how to enter India, i.e., whether to set up a subsidiary, form a joint venture with a local partner or open a branch. Far fewer spend the same effort on what happens once the entity exists. Yet it is usually after entry, when the business is running and the relationships are tested, that the gap between what an investor expected and what Indian law actually gives it becomes visible.

In December 2020, an arbitral tribunal ordered India to pay Cairn Energy about USD 1.2 billion, plus interest and costs, for a tax demand raised under a retrospective amendment. Three months earlier, Vodafone had won a similar case. Both claims succeeded because the investment treaties under which they were brought did not exclude tax. Under the treaties India signs today, neither claim could have been brought at all.

Limitation of liability clauses are generally enforceable in India, but only within limits that the Indian Contract Act, 1872 and the courts have drawn. A cap on damages is treated as a legitimate allocation of commercial risk between informed parties; a clause that tries to excuse fraud, wilful misconduct or a deliberate breach, or that is imposed through unequal bargaining power, is far more likely to fail.

Velusamy Karuppannan (the ‘Informant’), a software professional, alleged before the CCI that AVEVA Group Limited and its Indian subsidiaries (collectively, ‘AVEVA’) contravened Sections 3(4) and 4 of the Act by abusing its dominant position in the market for industrial automation software (Manufacturing Execution Systems (‘MES’), Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (‘SCADA’), and Historian) through: (i) coercing customers into the AVEVA Flex Subscription model and hiding perpetual licenses, driving higher prices and minimum credit commitments...

The Delhi High Court’s judgment in Jyoti Singh & Anr. v. State Govt. of NCT of Delhi & Ors., decided on 29 September 2026, addresses whether maintenance proceedings can be defeated when the judgment debtor cannot be traced. The Court held that a claimant’s inability to provide the debtor’s current address is not, by itself, a reason to dismiss execution proceedings. Courts must use available legal mechanisms to trace the debtor and enforce the order.

When commercial negotiations fail, parties face a critical choice: pursue traditional court litigation or opt for arbitration. India's Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 established a comprehensive framework for alternative dispute resolution, but has arbitration truly delivered on its promise as an effective alternative? This analysis examines the practical realities, statutory provisions, and comparative advantages of arbitration versus conventional litigation in the Indian legal system.

The Court of Appeal has ruled that ratifying the New York Convention does not automatically waive sovereign immunity in arbitral award enforcement proceedings. This decision clarifies the distinction between...

A Decree Holder seeks to execute an arbitral award of ₹385 crore through attachment and sale of properties, while Judgment Debtors argue they are undergoing Personal Insolvency Resolution Process under IBC, 2016. The central question is whether execution proceedings can continue when the statutory moratorium has expired but insolvency proceedings remain active, and whether this would grant preferential treatment disrupting the proposed repayment plan.

Our Partner, Sidharth Sethi, was invited as a speaker by the Department of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Law & Justice (DLA MoL&J) and the India International Arbitration Centre...