LexANKHIM HOLDINGS PVT. LTD. & ANR. versus ZAVERI CONSTRUCTION PVT. LTD.
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[2026] 3 S.C.R. 28 : 2026 INSC 137 Ankhim Holdings Pvt. Ltd. & Anr. v. Zaveri Construction Pvt. Ltd. (Civil Appeal No. 779 of 2026) 04 February 2026 [J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan, JJ.] Issue for Consideration Whether the High Court was justified in saying that the proceedings held by the Arbitral Tribunal on the seven relevant dates, i.e., from 17.03.2022 to 25.08.2022 were liable to be declared as nullity on the premise that those proceedings were undertaken during the period of moratorium u/s.14 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. Headnotes† Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 – s.11, s.15(2), s.15(3), s.17 and s.37 – The appellants and respondent (now under liquidation) entered into a partnership firm to develop and construct an SRA project – Dispute arose between them – The High Court appointed an arbitrator to arbitrate the disputes and differences between the parties – The NCLT admitted the respondent to CIRP and imposed a moratorium u/s.14 of IBC – Meanwhile, various applications were filed by both the appellants and respondent under provisions of the Act, 1996 before the Arbitral Tribunal and the High Court – Pursuant thereto, various orders were passed by the Arbitral Tribunal and the High Court – The High Court by its impugned judgment and order appointed substitute arbitrator to adjudicate the disputes and differences between the appellants and the respondent – However, the High Court proceeded to observe the all proceedings undertaken by the Arbitral Tribunal between 26.09.2019 and 26.08.2022 respectively being hit by the moratorium could be said to be a nullity – Correctness: Held: Since the appointment in the case at hand was made in terms of the Act, 1996, the original provision applicable to the appointment of the arbitrator would be s.11 of the Act, 1996 – The position of law as regards s.11 is well settled – It affords the Court [2026] 3 S.C.R. 29 Ankhim Holdings Pvt. Ltd. & Anr. v. Zaveri Construction Pvt. Ltd. with a very limited scope essentially requiring the Court only to make prima facie finding that an arbitration agreement exists – The High Court could be said to have travelled beyond its vested jurisdiction including by subsuming jurisdictions expressly made unavailable to it including s.37 of the Act, 1996 – Having regard to the plain language of sub-section (2) and sub-section (4) of s.15 respectively, the High Court exceeded in its jurisdiction while taking the view that the proceedings held by the Arbitral Tribunal between 17.03.2022 and 25.08.2022 are a nullity because of the operation of moratorium – The proper and legal course for the High Court acting u/s.15(2) of the Act, 1996, should have been to appoint a substitute arbitrator to continue from the existing stage of the proceedings – The impugned part of the judgment rendered by the High Court could be said to have resulted in a situation where the arbitration proceedings would have to be restarted de novo and the same would have a direct impact on the sale of flats made pursuant to the s.17 orders of the Tribunal – This could be both inequitable and inefficient – Thus, the part of the impugned order by which the High Court declared the proceedings undertaken between 17.03.2022 and 25.08.2022 as a nullity deserves to be interfered with and is hereby set aside. [Paras 34, 35, 37, 44-46] Case Law Cited Interplay Between Arbitration Agreements under Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 & Stamp Act, 1899, In re [2023] 15 SCR 1081 : (2024) 6 SCC 1 – followed. Yashwith Constructions Pvt. Ltd. v. Simplex Concrete Piles India Ltd. & Anr. [2006] Supp. 3 SCR 96 : (2006) 6 SCC 204; Official Trustee v. Sachindra Nath Chatterjee [1969] 3 SCR 92 : 1968 SCC Online SC 103 – relied on. Hindustan Construction Co. Ltd. v. Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam Ltd., 2025 SCC OnLine SC 2578; Shailesh Dhairyawan v. Mohan Balkrishna Lulla [2015] 12 SCR 70 : (2016) 3 SCC 619 – referred to. List of Acts Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996; Constitution of India; Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. 30 [2026] 3 S.C.R. Supreme Court Reports List of Keywords Home-buyers; Jurisdiction; Section 11(6) of Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996; Section 15(2) of Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996; Section 15(3) of Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996; Section 14 of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016; Minimal Judicial Intervention; Self-Contained Code; Doctrine of Nullity; S
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