24 May 2021 | Janta Associates and Co. Ltd. v. Indian Oil Foundation & another | FAO(OS) (COMM) 76 of 2021 | Rajiv Sahai Endlaw & Amit Bansal JJ

The Delhi High Court dismissed a Section 37 appeal against a Section 9 order in which the prayer for payment of a sum was rejected. The Delhi High Court held that:

A 2-judge bench of the court, affirming the single judge’s decision, has ruled that Section 9 ACA does not empower the court to grant final relief even if liability is admitted by the opposite party. Section 9 ACA permits only to grant interim preservatory measures. Section 9 ACA has to be read along with Section 5 ACA which was incorporated to curb the tendency of the courts to adjudicate except to the extent expressly permitted by the ACA.

The question if the court can grant under Section 9(ii)(b) order in the nature of attachment before award on principles other than Order XXXVIII Rule 5 of CPC , was not examined because there was no pleading.

Access the judgment here.