In the two recent cases of HRD Corporation v GAIL (2017) and TRF v Energo(2017), the Supreme Court of India has provided useful guidance as to the 2015 amendments to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 Act relating to the appointment and challenge of arbitrators. This case note critically analyses both decisions, focussing in particular on the structural issue of the availability of interlocutory judicial challenges to arbitrators. Following a comparative study of this issue, the note concludes that there is a strong argument for a further amendment to the 1996 Act to bring it into line with both the UNCITRAL Model Law and the arbitration laws of many other States.
