India: Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration

This newsletter examines recent Supreme Court judgments across arbitration, civil law, criminal law, insolvency, and white-collar crime. Key rulings address the binding of non-signatories to arbitration agreements, the scope of "industry" under the Industrial Disputes Act, limitations on FIR registration following Section 156(3) rejections, and the evidentiary requirements for proving bribery demands under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Behind Khan Market’s busy cafés and restaurants lies a less visible problem: many of the market’s older buildings were never designed to meet modern fire-safety standards. Several restaurants operate from the first and second floors, which are reached through narrow staircases and, in some cases, only one practical entry and exit route. This structural limitation became a legal issue when the New Delhi Municipal Council (“NDMC”) linked the renewal of restaurant permissions to obtaining a fire no-objection certificate (“Fire NOC”).

In a recent decision in Santosh Associate Private Limited vs. Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. [2026 INSC 872], the Supreme Court of India ("Supreme Court"), while examining a contractual stipulation requiring a contractor to furnish a security deposit before reference of disputes to arbitration, expressed serious reservations regarding onerous pre-deposit conditions that may deter access to arbitration.