In a significant legal victory for Bharat Forge Ltd. and its wholly owned subsidiary BF Infrastructure Ltd., the Delhi High Court has quashed an arbitral award worth approximately ₹77 crore that was passed against them in 2019. The High Court, in its judgment dated May 26, 2025, held that the arbitrator’s appointment in the matter was “void ab initio,” rendering the entire arbitral proceedings legally untenable.
The dispute stemmed from a claim initiated by Tarsem Jain, who had secured an arbitral award in his favour on May 10, 2019. Bharat Forge and BF Infrastructure had challenged the award under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, which empowers courts to set aside arbitral awards on grounds such as procedural impropriety or violation of natural justice.
The High Court accepted the company’s contention that the arbitrator had been unilaterally appointed—contravening established legal norms and Supreme Court precedents on neutral and mutual appointment of arbitrators. Citing this, the Court invalidated the appointment and declared the proceedings and resulting award null and void.
As per Bharat Forge’s stock exchange filing under Regulation 30 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, the Court also dismissed the enforcement petition filed by Jain. Importantly, the company clarified that there would be no financial impact as a result of the ruling, and that no liability will now arise from the set-aside award.
