Axis Bank Limited v. Prabhakar Sadashiv Ghag
Case brief
What is this about?
Axis Bank Ltd. v. Prabhakar Sadashiv Ghag, Bombay HC Execution Application No. 450 of 2021 (Rajesh S. Patil, J., 11-03-2026): execution of arbitral award refused; sole arbitrator's appointment found unilateral; award declared non-est, non-executable and void-ab-initio even at execution stage, following the court's earlier decision in L & T Finance Ltd. v. Sangeeta Bhansali (Comm. Exe. Appl. (L) 5277/2022) and the Supreme Court's ruling in Bhadra International (India) Pvt. Ltd. v. Airport Authority of India (Civil Appeal Nos. 37-38 of 2026, decided 05-01-2026); fresh arbitration permitted with limitation exclusion from invocation of arbitration till the order date.
What did the court decide?
Execution Application dismissed; arbitral award declared non-est in law, non-executable and void-ab-initio; connected Notice and Interim Applications disposed of; parties left free to initiate fresh arbitration proceedings in accordance with law, with the period from invocation of arbitration till 11 March 2026 excluded for limitation.