https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=313532 Delhi HC held that COVID-19 cannot excuse contractual breaches that occurred prior to the pandemic outbreak. The contractor, in breach since September 2019, could not invoke force majeure for pre-existing defaults despite March 2020 lockdown. Force majeure clauses require narrow interpretation and parties must demonstrate genuine prevention and mitigation efforts. The court permitted invocation of performance and financial bank guarantees as they were unconditional, but directed advance bank guarantee proceeds be placed in joint account pending reconciliation of recoverable amounts. Ad-interim injunction was vacated. en-us Fri, 29 May 2020 00:00:00 +0530 Fri, 19 Apr 2024 21:06:31 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=313532 Delhi HC held that COVID-19 cannot excuse contractual breaches that occurred prior to the pandemic outbreak. The contractor, in breach since September 2019, could not invoke force majeure for pre-existing defaults despite March 2020 lockdown. Force majeure clauses require narrow interpretation and parties must demonstrate genuine prevention and mitigation efforts. The court permitted invocation of performance and financial bank guarantees as they were unconditional, but directed advance bank guarantee proceeds be placed in joint account pending reconciliation of recoverable amounts. Ad-interim injunction was vacated. Case-Laws Indian Laws Fri, 29 May 2020 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=313532