Arbitration not litigant’s first choice, rues Justice Sanjiv Khanna
NEW DELHI: Supreme Court judge Justice Sanjiv Khanna on Sunday said it was concerning that arbitration was not the first choice of any litigant in India and parties still preferred litigation and adjudication in courts.
The top court judge, who was speaking at the closing ceremony of Delhi Arbitration Weekend (DAW) in the Delhi High Court, emphasised that the system has to evolve if “we have to look 10 years ahead and want the country to become the preferred seat for arbitration”.
DAW, the flagship event of Delhi International Arbitration Centre (DIAC), was attended by experts and dignitaries from across the country and the globe.
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, Attorney General of India R Venkataramani and Arbitrator and Mediator of Duxton Hill Chambers V K Rajah SC also spoke at the ceremony in the presence of sitting and former judges and members of the Bar.
Justice Khanna is in line to become the Chief Justice of India (CJI) after the retirement of present CJI D Y Chandrachud in November.
Justice Khanna said the legislature has been proactive in bringing changes in the arbitration law to make it in sync with the international standards but the number of cases being referred to arbitration showed a bleak picture.
“When we come to the data with regard to the number of cases being referred to institutionalised arbitration, the picture is again very bleak. In 2023, about 1,16,453 civil cases were instituted in civil courts in Delhi, while 4,243 suits were instituted in the Delhi High Court,” he said.
As against this, 7,358 cases were referred to arbitration to the Delhi High Court arbitration centre in 2023. This means the Delhi High Court arbitration centre dealt with only six to seven per cent of the matters compared to the civil litigation, the judge said.
“It is a matter of concern. Arbitration is not the first choice of any litigant in India. Otherwise everybody when they come to the court will move an application or joint applications (saying) please refer our dispute to arbitration. It is very rarely happening... The fact of the matter is parties prefer litigation and adjudication to arbitration,” he said. Justice Khanna said that during his tenure at the Delhi High Court, he did not receive any application in a pending civil matter by the parties for sending the matter to arbitration.