Courts do not sit in appeal over arbitral awards. Understanding the limits of Section 34 is the difference between a strategy and a wasted year.
The Arbitration and Conciliation Act permits a challenge to an award on narrow grounds — incapacity, an invalid agreement, want of notice, an award beyond the scope of submission, procedural irregularity, or conflict with the public policy of India.
What "patent illegality" does and does not cover
Patent illegality applies to domestic awards and reaches errors that go to the root of the matter. It does not open the door to a re-appreciation of evidence. An arbitrator taking a plausible view of a contract is not committing a patent illegality by taking a view you disagree with.
An award is not vulnerable merely because a court would have decided differently.
Practical points
- The limitation period is three months, extendable by thirty days on sufficient cause — and no further
- Grounds must be pleaded specifically; a general averment of public policy achieves nothing
- Interim protection under Section 36 is not automatic on filing
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This article is general commentary, not legal advice. Outcomes turn on the facts of each matter —
please consult an advocate before acting on anything you read here.