Courts must support arbitration, shouldn't put a barrier: Justice Manmohan of SC

New Delhi, Oct 31 (PTI) Batting for an efficacious alternate dispute resolution mechanism, Justice Manmohan of the Supreme Court on Friday said that courts must support arbitration and not put a barrier in the process.

Speaking at the Indian Dispute Resolution Centre's (IDRC's) 'Fourth Arbitration in India Conclave, 2025', the apex court judge asked Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal to reconsider a decision of the finance ministry that said no disputes above Rs 10 crore will go for arbitration.

"The courts must support arbitration, rather than acting as a barrier to arbitration," he said at the event.

"One issue I would like to flag, because the law minister is here, and that I do it as a person who believed and who believes in arbitration, is a new circular that the Ministry of Finance has issued, that above Rs 10 crore, no dispute will go for arbitration. Really, I would request the minister to re-examine it. I don't blame the view or the stand that the government has taken," Justice Manmohan said.

He said that there should be "a legislation to prohibit ad hoc arbitration for some time".

The top court judge underlined the importance of institutional arbitration and said, "It is very, very important and a very significant step towards the resolution of disputes in an expeditious and fair manner." Justice Manmohan hailed Divyansh H Rathi, an advocate and Secretary of IDRC, for doing a good job in the field of arbitration.

"In conclusion, I would like to only say that we need many more institutions like the IDRC to ensure that the promise of accessible and timely justice for all becomes not just an aspiration but a reality," he said.

The law minister also spoke at the function.

Speaking about the organisation, Rathi said, "Indian Dispute Resolution Centre is a not-for-profit institutional arbitration centre established by the 'Indian Dispute Resolution Council' and is registered with the Union Ministry of Commerce and NITI Aayog and is empanelled with the Union Ministry of Law and Justice.

"It provides a state-of-the-art institutional environment for the online and offline resolution of disputes through arbitration and mediation." "Its services are being used by various firms and institutions, including National Skill Development Corporation, apart from HDFC Bank, Axis Bank…," he said. PTI SKM MNR SJK MNR KSS KSS