The Bombay High Court has dismissed four appeals filed by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC), thereby upholding a ₹160 crore arbitral award in favour of Jindal Drilling & Industries Ltd. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Sandeep V. Marne found no merit in ONGC’s attempt to delay the award or to establish a corporate link between Jindal and Discovery Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. (DEPL).
The appeals stemmed from an earlier arbitral award dated October 9, 2013, upheld by a Single Judge in 2015, directing ONGC to pay Jindal for the completion of four separate drilling contracts. While ONGC acknowledged the liability, it sought to adjust the dues against claims it had against Discovery Enterprises in a separate arbitration, alleging both entities belonged to the same corporate group.
The original dispute arose from a 2006 contract between ONGC and Discovery for hiring an offshore oil-processing vessel. Following Discovery’s alleged default, ONGC attempted to bring Jindal into the arbitration, arguing the “Group of Companies” doctrine applied. Jindal, however, contended that it had no contractual relationship with Discovery and had independently completed its contracts with ONGC. The arbitral tribunal agreed and removed Jindal from the proceedings.
Though ONGC’s first appeal was dismissed, the Supreme Court allowed it to pursue its claim, leading to a fresh hearing. On April 3, 2025, the arbitral tribunal again ruled in favour of Jindal, holding that ONGC had failed to prove any substantive corporate linkage between Jindal and Discovery. During the proceedings, ONGC had deposited the amount in court, which Jindal later withdrew by furnishing bank guarantees.
The High Court rejected ONGC’s fresh attempts to delay enforcement of the award, clarifying that the Supreme Court’s earlier order merely allowed the tribunal to decide jurisdiction—not to revisit settled findings. The Court further held that there was no pending arbitration between ONGC and Jindal and reiterated that ONGC had never disputed the debt owed to Jindal, only attempting to cross-adjust liabilities involving a third party.
Accordingly, the Court upheld the arbitral award and dismissed all pending appeals. It granted Jindal liberty to retain the bank guarantees for eight weeks to enable ONGC to approach the Supreme Court, if it so chooses. However, it maintained that ONGC is free to pursue separate recovery proceedings against Discovery.
Appearances:
For the Appellant (ONGC): Mr. Pankaj Savant, Senior Advocate with Mr. Nishit Dhruva, Ms. Khushbu Chhajed, and Mr. Pulkit Awasthi
For the Respondent (Jindal): Mr. V. R. Dhond, Senior Advocate with Mr. Aseem Chaturvedi, Mr. Ravitej Chilumuri, Mr. Milind Sharma, Ms. Radhika Kulkarni, and Ms. Karishma Rao
