Babubhai Animesh Thiba v. Western Indian Film and Tv Producers
Arbitration – Maintainability – Section 34, Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996
Case brief
What is this about?
Bombay High Court (O.O.C.J.), Arbitration Petition No. 356 of 2024 (with Interim Application No. 3346 of 2024), decided 11 November 2025 by Sandeep V. Marne, J. Petitioner Babubhai Animesh Thiba (counsel: Ashok M. Saraogi with Anand Mishra, Amit Dubey and Aahana Shrivastava) challenged the Directive Order dated 12.07.2023 of the Dispute Settlement Committee of Western Indian Film and TV Producers Association (WIFPA) under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, believing it to be an arbitral award. WIFPA, in paragraph 26 of its Affidavit-in-Reply, disclaimed that the directive was an 'Arbitral Award' or that its internal dispute resolution process was arbitration. Held: what is challenged is not an Arbitral Award and cannot be enforced as if a decree of the Civil Court; the Arbitration Petition is not maintainable and was disposed of; the Interim Application also stood disposed of. Keywords: WIFPA; Dispute Settlement Committee; directive order; Section 34; maintainability; not an arbitral award; internal dispute resolution; film and TV producers association.