Arbitral award passed after long delay, without resolving dispute, violates public policy: Supreme Court

Published on : 01 Nov 2025, 5:34 am 5 min read

The Supreme Court has ruled that an arbitral award passed after undue and unexplained delay without resolving the dispute at hand, can be set aside for violating public policy [ Lancor Holdings Limited v. Prem Kumar Menon and ors ].

A Bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Satish Chandra Sharma held that while delay alone is insufficient to invalidate an arbitral award, unexplained delay that adversely impacts the final outcome of the arbitration would render it contrary to public policy.

The Court made the observation while setting aside an arbitral award delivered after nearly four years of delay, which ultimately failed to resolve the dispute.

"The very basis and public policy underlying the process of arbitration is that it