Topic: competence-competence | Valkya Editorial

MCM Worldwide v. CIDC: a section 16 rejection is not an interim award

On 21 April 2026, the Supreme Court held that a rejection of a jurisdictional plea under section 16 of the Arbitration Act is not an interim award and cannot be challenged under section 34 until the final award is rendered.

Valkya Editorial·2 Jun 2026·9 min

Landmark JudgmentSupreme Court of India

Vidya Drolia and the four-fold test: the Supreme Court reorders the law of arbitrability

On 14 December 2020 a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, in Vidya Drolia v. Durga Trading Corporation, restated and tightened the in rem / in personam taxonomy of Booz Allen into a structured four-fold test for non-arbitrability, held tenancy disputes under the Transfer of Property Act arbitrable, overruled N. Radhakrishnan on the arbitrability of fraud, and recalibrated the standard of judicial review under Sections 8 and 11 in favour of competence-competence. A close reading of Justice Sanjiv Khanna's lead judgment, Justice Ramana's concurring opinion, the doctrinal architecture and what the bar should plead in the post-Vidya Drolia world.

Valkya Editorial·31 May 2026·15 min