The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice in a Special Leave Petition filed by HCL Infosystems over the extension of the arbitral tribunal’s mandate under Section 29A of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. While declining to stay the Rajasthan High Court’s refusal to grant a further extension of the tribunal’s mandate, the Court directed that the final award shall not be pronounced, served or uploaded until further orders. It, however, stayed the operation of the High Court’s direction requiring the arbitral tribunal to refund a portion of the arbitral fees.

The matter arose from the Rajasthan High Court’s judgment dated May 27, 2026, which had interfered with the Commercial Court’s order granting a second extension of the arbitral tribunal’s mandate. While holding that successive applications under Section 29A are maintainable, they cannot be granted mechanically and must be supported by ‘sufficient cause’ assessed on the facts of each case.

At the outset, Senior Advocate Shyam Divan appearing along with Advocate Kartik Seth informed the Bench that they had also filed a cross Special Leave Petition and requested that both matters be heard together. He submitted:

Counsel for HCL Infosystems Limited pointed out that pursuant to the High Court’s directions, the arbitral hearings had already concluded and only the pronouncement of the award remained. Responding to the submissions, the Bench of Justice KV Vishwanathan and Justice Shree Chandrashekhar observed:

The Court, however, stayed the operation of the High Court’s direction regarding refund of arbitral fees. The Court further directed that the cross Special Leave Petition filed by the respondent-DISCOMs be tagged with the present matter and listed on July 20, 2026.