Referral court under Section 11 Arbitration Act can examine if non-signatory is party to arbitration: Supreme Court

Published on : 10 Dec 2025, 11:42 am 4 min read

The Supreme Court has reiterated that a referral court (the court approached to appoint an arbitrator and initiate the arbitration process) under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, is empowered to examine whether a non-signatory to a contract is a party to related arbitral proceedings [ Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Vs BCL Secure Premises Pvt Ltd ].

A Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Visvanathan said that a prima facie demonstration has to be made 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.