https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=310706 A contractual clause requiring a contractor to deposit 7% of the claim amount before invoking arbitration was upheld as valid and enforceable. The Court held that unequal bargaining power does not apply to freely entered commercial contracts, and that fairness or reasonableness cannot be used to rewrite express contractual terms. Sections 31(8) and 38 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 operate only where the parties have made no agreement, so they do not override an agreed deposit mechanism. The clause was also found to have a rational basis because it was linked to the claim value and helped deter frivolous or inflated claims. en-us Mon, 23 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0530 Thu, 16 Nov 2023 17:36:00 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=310706 A contractual clause requiring a contractor to deposit 7% of the claim amount before invoking arbitration was upheld as valid and enforceable. The Court held that unequal bargaining power does not apply to freely entered commercial contracts, and that fairness or reasonableness cannot be used to rewrite express contractual terms. Sections 31(8) and 38 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 operate only where the parties have made no agreement, so they do not override an agreed deposit mechanism. The clause was also found to have a rational basis because it was linked to the claim value and helped deter frivolous or inflated claims. Case-Laws Indian Laws Mon, 23 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=310706