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Jan De Nul Dredging India Pvt. Ltd. v. Tuticorin Port Trust

Not available · 2026 INSC 34Decided 7 Jan 2026
Not available
Justice Pankaj Mithal · Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha

Background

A dredging contractor's idle-time compensation claim was upheld by an arbitral tribunal and a Single Judge, but the Madras High Court's Division Bench reversed it on appeal.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that once an award survives a Section 34 challenge, a Section 37 appellate court cannot go further and re-examine the merits: the Division Bench had no jurisdiction to overturn a "reasonable" arbitral interpretation of the contract.

Lesson Learnt

Courts interfere with arbitral awards only on narrow, defined grounds, disagreeing with the arbitrator's contract reading is not one of them.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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