Court Clarifies Arbitration Act's Part I Applicability: Foreign Seat Excludes Indian Jurisdiction for Post-2012 Agreements.

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....The doctrine of forum non conveniens was applied to determine the maintainability of a petition u/s 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The Court held that Part I of the Act is applicable only where the arbitration takes place in India or the law governing the arbitration agreement is Indian law. For agreements executed after 06.09.2012, if the seat of arbitration is outside India, Part I is inapplicable. For pre-06.09.2012 agreements, Part I is inapplicable if parties have excluded its application by designating a foreign seat or governing law. The seat cannot be determined by the 'Closest Connection Test' but by express designation or significant indicia. Where multiple possible seats exist, forum non conveniens determines t.........