\214REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CIVIL APPEAL NOS.8475-76 OF 2016

(Arising out of S.L.P. (C) Nos. 22991-92 of 2016)

Arun Dev Upadhyaya Appellant(s)

Versus

Integrated Sales Service Ltd & Anr. Respondent(s)

J U D G M E N T

Dipak Misra, J.

Aggrieved by the order dated 23.06.2016 passed by the Division

Bench of the High Court of Judicature at Bombay, Nagpur Bench,

Nagpur in C.A.M. No. 34 of 2016 in Arbitration Appeal No.3 of 2016

rejecting the preliminary objection raised by the appellant and further

being dissatisfied with the order dated 15.07.2016 expressing

disinclination to entertain the Civil Miscellaneous Application (Review),

the present appeals, by special leave, have been preferred for

annulling the same.

2. The facts which are relevant to be stated for adjudication of the

appeals are that an award was passed in favour of the 1 st

respondent

in ICDR Case No. 50-181-T-00327-09 by the International Arbitration

Tribunal (for short, ⬠Sthe tribunal⬠\235) making the appellant the DMC

2

Management Consultants Limited and another jointly and severally

liable to pay USD 6,948,100 within ten days from the date of passing

of the award.

3. It is the case of the respondent that the international arbitration

award had attained finality as the appellant herein had not challenged

it under Delaware Law which is the applicable law. On 29.04.2010,

the 1 st

respondent filed an application under Sections 47 and 49 of the

Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (for brevity, ⬠Sthe 1996 Act⬠\235) for

enforcement of the Award before the District Judge, Nagpur and the

proceeding continued before the concerned District Judge till the

Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2015 (for short, ⬠S2015

Act⬠\235) came into force with effect from 23 rd

October 2015, by which the

High Court was conferred with the original jurisdiction in case of

International Commercial Arbitration. After the 2015 Act came into

force, the 1 st

respondent filed Misc. Civil Application No. 1319 of 2015

before the High Court for enforcement of the award. The Learned

Single Judge by his final order dated 18.04.2016 came to hold that the

award dated 28.03.2010 was enforceable against the DMC

Management Consultants Limited and passed a decree against it in

terms of the award. However, the learned single judge opined that the

award was not enforceable in India against the other respondent as

the arbitral tribunal could not have passed the award against them.

3

The opinion expressed by the learned Single Judge reads as follows:-

⬠S (1) The award dated 28.3.2010 passed by the International

Arbitration Tribunal in ICDR Case No. 50181T0032709

becomes unenforceable in India to the extent it operates

against the non-applicant No. 2-Arun Dev s/o

Govindvishnu Upadhyaya and No. 3 Gemini Bay

Transcription Pvt. Ltd., and the claim for passing a decree

against them in terms of the said award is refused.

(2) The award passed by the International Arbitration

Tribunal in ICDR Case No. 50181T0032709 to the extent it

operates against the non-applicant No. 1-DMC Management

Consultants Ltd. is made enforceable in India and the

decree is passed in terms of the said award against the

non-applicant No. 1.⬠\235

4. Being dissatisfied with the decision of the learned single judge,

the 1 st

respondent preferred an appeal under Section 50(1)(b) of the

1996 Act read with Clause 15 of the Letters Patent of