Writ interference with partial arbitral awards is impermissible where the Arbitration Act provides its own statutory remedies.

A challenge to a partial arbitral award through writ jurisdiction is impermissible where the statutory scheme under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 provides its own remedies. An application before the District Judge, styled under Section 20 of the Act read with Section 19 of the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006, was not maintainable against a partial award made under Section 16, because Section 16(6) does not permit such intervention. The legal position is that orders within the arbitral process are not to be corrected routinely under Articles 226 or 227 of the Constitution, and parties must pursue remedies available under the Act.

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Issues: Whether the High Court could exercise jurisdiction under Article 227 of the Constitution of India to interfere with an order passed by the District Judge on an application that was itself not maintainable under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 and the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006, and thereby set aside a partial arbitral award.

Analysis: The application before the District Judge was directed against a partial award made under Section 16 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, while being styled under Section 20 of that Act read with Section 19 of the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006. Such an application was not tenable in view of Section 16(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The statutory scheme leaves the aggrieved party to pursue the remedies available under the Act, and does not permit the High Court to treat every order of the arbitral process as open to correction in writ jurisdiction under Article 226 or Article 227 of the Constitution of India. On that footing, the High Court's interference with the partial award was contrary to law.

Conclusion: The challenge to the arbitral order through writ jurisdiction was impermissible, and the High Court's judgment setting aside the partial award was liable to be set aside.

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