this case, i.e. in respect of arbitrations that commenced prior to 23.10.2015, may be referred to briefly. In a nutshell, in a long line of decisions leading up to ASSOCIATE BUILDERS Vs. DELHI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (2015) 3 SCC 49, the Hon'ble Supreme Court held that an Arbitral Award may be set aside, on merits, either if it is contrary to public policy or if it is patently illegal. The Award is said to be contrary to public policy, inter alia, if it is in contravention of the fundamental policy of Indian law. As regards patent illegality, it has been held that an Award that is contrary to substantive law or contrary to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act,1996(the Arbitration Act) or in disregard of the contract can be interfered with provided the error is apparent on the face of the record and goes to the root of the matter. With regard to interpretation of contract, the position is that interpretation is within the domain of the Arbitral Tribunal and unless an interpretation is implausible, completely unreasonable or perverse, it would not be interfered with. Similarly, as regards appraisal of evidence, the position is that the Arbitral Tribunal is the final arbiter of the relevance, admissibility, weight and materiality of evidence and that reappraisal of evidence is not to be carried out in a petition under Section 34 of the Arbitration Act. In other words, as regards evidence, interference is warranted only if the Award is based on no evidence or if irrelevant evidence is the basis of the Award or if vital evidence was disregarded.
