Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. v. BCL Secure Premises Pvt. Ltd.; 2025 INSC 1401 - S.11 Arbitration Act - Veritable Party
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Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 - Section 11 -It should be demonstrated prima facie before the referral court that the non-signatory is a veritable party- The referral court under Section 11 is not deprived of its jurisdiction from examining whether the non-signatory is in the real sense a party to the arbitration agreement. The answer thereof will depend on the facts and circumstances of each case after examining the documents pertaining thereto. (Para 26) If there is nothing even prima facie to show that there was any semblance of an intent to effect legal relationship between that party and the party originally granting the contract and/or to indicate that such a third party was a veritable party, such parties cannot be found to be veritable parties. (Para 36) Mere legal or commercial connection is not sufficient for a non-signatory to claim through or under a signatory party. (Para 37)
Case Info
Key Details
- Case name: Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. v. BCL Secure Premises Pvt. Ltd.
- Neutral citation: 2025 INSC 1401
- Coram: J.B. Pardiwala, J. and K.V. Viswanathan, J.
- Judgment date: 9 December 2025
Caselaws and Citations
- Cox and Kings Ltd. v. SAP (India) Pvt. Ltd. (1): (2024) 4 SCC 1
- In Re: Interplay Between Arbitration Agreements under the A&C Act, 1996 & Stamp Act, 1899: (2024) 6 SCC 1
- SBI General Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Krish Spinning: (2024) 12 SCC 1
- Ajay Madhusudan Patel v. Jyotrindra S. Patel: (2025) 2 SCC 147
- ASF Buildtech Pvt. Ltd. v. Shapoorji Pallonji & Co. Pvt. Ltd.: (2025) 9 SCC 76
- Pravin Electricals Pvt. Ltd. v. Galaxy Infra & Engineering Pvt. Ltd.: (2021) 5 SCC 671
- Cox & Kings Ltd. (2) v. SAP (India) Pvt. Ltd.: (2025) 1 SCC 611
- Khardah Co. Ltd. v. Raymon & Co.: 1963 3 SCR 183
Statutes/Laws Referred
- Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (Sections 11(4), 11(6-A), 16, 21, 37)
- Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (Section 9)
- Indian Stamp Act, 1899
- MSME Facilitation Council framework under the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 (context of claims)
- Tender/contract clauses: HPCL General Terms and Conditions—Clauses 2.6, 3.17, 5.c, 14 (arbitration, subletting/assignment, jurisdiction)
#SupremeCourt holds that the referral court under Section 11 A&C Act is not deprived of its jurisdiction from examining whether the non-signatory is in the real sense a party to the arbitration agreement. It should be demonstrated prima facie before the referral court that the… https://t.co/32yP7wNjVU pic.twitter.com/WyitFJTcOK
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