CJI differs with Jaitley on courts delaying arbitration

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today sought minimal judicial intervention in arbitrations for early dispute resolution, a view that Chief Justice of India T S Thakur countered saying such interferences no longer exist.
At a conference on strengthening arbitration and enforcement in India, President Pranab Mukherjee said courts should devise a mechanism to handle arbitration matters separately and avoid delays arising from its intervention.
Speaking before Mukherjee, the Finance Minister said contracts should be respected and judicial interference in adjudicating them should be minimal or non-existent.
Chief Justice of India, however, sought to counter perception of judicial interference in arbitration matters.

"There is, in some quarters, a perception that courts in this country interfere with arbitral awards more than courts in other jurisdictions do. I take this opportunity to point out that this perception should no longer persist in view of some path-breaking pronouncements towards making India an arbitration friendly destination," Thakur said.
Jaitley, in his speech at the conference, had pressed for expeditious arbitration especially in view of increase in foreign investment and the need to develop a mechanism to deal with commercial disputes with minimal judicial interference.
"We need arbitration with speed, we need arbitration with modest cost. We need to recognise the principle that arbitration being a domestic redressal mode chosen by the contracting parties, contracts should be respected and therefore judicial intervention to be either minimal or virtually non existent," he said.