Summary
The Supreme Court set aside the impugned order because the precedent on which it relied had admittedly been overruled by the larger-Bench decision in Viva Highways. Any pending arbitration proceedings were to be governed by that High Court judgment. The brief order did not independently determine the underlying contract claims or specify a monetary award.
Issues
- What consequence followed from the admitted overruling of the precedent underlying the impugned order.
- Which judgment governed any pending arbitration proceedings.
Held
- The parties did not dispute that the relied-on judgment had been overruled by the larger Bench in Viva Highways Ltd. v. Madhya Pradesh Road Development Corporation, 2017 (2) MPLJ 681. On that basis the Supreme Court set aside the impugned order. (¶ 2)
- Any arbitration proceedings still pending were to be governed by Viva Highways. The direction was expressly conditional on proceedings being pending and did not itself decide the merits or quantify the parties’ claims. (¶¶ 3, 4)
Result
Appeal allowed and impugned order set aside; any pending arbitration proceedings to be governed by the specified larger-Bench High Court judgment. Appeal disposed of.