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LiuGong India Pvt Ltd vs. Crosslite Infra Pvt Ltd and Ors

Original Miscellaneous Petition (Interim, Commercial) · 2026:DHC:8227Decided 23 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
O.M.P.(I) (COMM.) 181/2026CNR: DLHC010179292026
Justice Om Prakash Shukla

Background

LiuGong India, a seller of heavy machinery, had sued Crosslite Infra under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, alleging that Crosslite had failed to pay for machines supplied under a sale agreement and seeking to restrain Crosslite from disposing of or encumbering that machinery pending arbitration. In April 2026, the Court had already granted interim protection restraining any transfer of the machines.

Decision Breakdown

Noting that the petitioner had been enjoying interim protection since April 2026 without initiating arbitration, the Court held that such interim relief could not continue indefinitely. It directed LiuGong to take steps to constitute the Arbitral Tribunal within three weeks, after which the interim petition would be treated as an application before the arbitrator. The existing interim protection would continue only until the arbitrator considered the matter, and would automatically lapse if arbitration was not commenced within the three-week window.

Lesson Learnt

A party that obtains urgent interim protection from a court pending arbitration must promptly get the arbitration itself underway: courts will not let a party sit on court-granted interim relief indefinitely without actually pursuing the arbitration for which that relief was meant to be a stop-gap.

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