Ad-Interim Orders, Section 37(1)(b), and Article 227: Analysing the Missed Opportunity in Jindal Steel v. Bansal Infra

This article analyses the Supreme Court’s decision in M/s Jindal Steel & Power Ltd. v. Bansal Infra Projects Pvt. Ltd., arguing that the Court missed a key opportunity to clarify Indian arbitration law. The judgment failed to resolve whether ad-interim orders under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, are appealable under Section 37(1)(b). This ambiguity encourages litigants to bypass the statutory appellate process by using Article 227 of the Constitution. The author argues that the Court also neglected to apply established tests for judicial intervention, such as “patent lack of jurisdiction,” which undermines arbitral autonomy. The article concludes that this decision creates procedural instability and calls for legislative and judicial clarification to restore the Act's self-sufficient framework.

Sharnam Agarwal