Arbitral fairness requires notice and hearing before interim relief; ex parte ad-interim orders on section 17 are exceptional.

Arbitral procedure under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 requires equal treatment of parties, a full opportunity to present their case, and advance notice of hearings. On a section 17 application, an ex parte ad-interim order cannot ordinarily be granted merely on the papers where both parties are before the tribunal, because those procedural safeguards apply throughout the process. The commentary notes that the Indian statute does not adopt the UNCITRAL Model Law mechanism for preliminary ex parte orders, and only exceptional urgency supported by the statutory framework could justify dispensing with notice. The practical effect is that interim relief should generally be considered after notice and hearing.

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Issues: Whether an arbitral tribunal could grant an ex parte ad-interim order on a section 17 application without notice and hearing to the opposite party.

Analysis: The statutory scheme governing arbitral procedure requires equal treatment of parties, a full opportunity to present the case, and sufficient advance notice of hearings. Those safeguards apply throughout the arbitral process and are inconsistent with the grant of an ex parte ad-interim order on a section 17 application merely on the basis of the application papers, particularly where both parties are already before the tribunal. The judgment also notes that the Indian arbitration statute does not adopt the UNCITRAL Model Law mechanism for preliminary ex parte orders, and that the facts of the application did not disclose such extraordinary urgency as to justify dispensing with notice.

Conclusion: The ex parte ad-interim order was impermissible and was set aside.

Final Conclusion: Interim relief under the arbitration statute must ordinarily be considered after notice and hearing, and a drastic ex parte order cannot be sustained where the procedural safeguards of fairness and equal opportunity are not observed.

Ratio Decidendi: In arbitral proceedings, sections 18, 19 and 24 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 require fair procedure, equal treatment, and advance notice, so an ex parte ad-interim order on a section 17 application cannot be granted absent exceptional justification supported by the statutory framework.

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