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...

An employee stops coming to work, without notice and without explanation, and days turn into weeks. The employer treats the relationship as over. The employee, when he resurfaces, says he was dismissed unfairly. The question before Courts in that moment is stark: did the employee walk away, or was this a dismissal in disguise? This is one of the most heavily litigated issues in Indian employment law, because the answer decides whether the employer must comply with retrenchment safeguards or whether the separation falls outside the statutory framework altogether.

Arbitration is founded upon consent. The jurisdiction of an arbitral tribunal ordinarily derives from an agreement by which parties elect to submit their disputes to arbitration, and the principle of party autonomy remains central to the legitimacy of that consensual jurisdiction. Yet, the absence of a signature does not invariably establish the absence of consent.

Bail is decided at speed and on incomplete information, and the system has long struggled with a recurring problem: an applicant who does not disclose, or who actively suppresses, facts that bear on whether bail should be granted, from a string of earlier rejected bail pleas to a history of antecedents. The Supreme Court’s recent intervention addresses that problem directly, by requiring the material particulars to be placed before the court on oath.

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.

In Mohd. Aftab v. Union of India and others, the Allahabad High Court, by an interim order dated September 14, 2026, observed that passport authorities have, prima facie, no business denying a passport merely because a criminal case is pending against the applicant. The Bench of Justice J.J. Munir and Justice Indrajeet Shukla also clarified that holding a passport does not give a person a spontaneous passage across borders.

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...