It’s Saturday morning, January 31, 2026, and if you think the “higher” court always gets the final word, the Supreme Court just gave a massive reality check to the legal food chain. On Thursday, they ruled that in the world of arbitration, institutional rank doesn’t mean a thing if the law says otherwise. Or nothing.
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The “Hierarchy” Ruling: Field Notes
It’s an ongoing situation where the Supreme Court had to remind everyone that even a High Court is just a “referral court” when it comes to appointing an arbitrator. Here’s the ground reality from the Jagdeep Chowgule vs. Sheela Chowgule verdict:
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The Core Conflict: The case involved the Chowgule family (massive industrialist name, those too) and an arbitration over a 2021 settlement. The High Court had appointed the arbitrator. When time ran out, a Commercial Court (a “lower” court) extended the deadline. The High Court of Bombay at Goa got annoyed and threw that out, saying an “inferior” court can’t boss around a tribunal appointed by a “superior” court.
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The “Dicey” Defense: A bench of Justices PS Narasimha and R Mahadevan quoted constitutional theorist AV Dicey: “However high you may be, the law is above you.” They basically told the High Courts that their “perceived status” isn’t a valid way to interpret the law. Let’s be real—they called the High Court’s ego a “misconception.”
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Functus Officio: The Supreme Court ruled that once a High Court appoints an arbitrator under Section 11, its job is done. It doesn’t become a “Big Brother” watching over the case.
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The Rule of Law: The power to extend timelines or swap out arbitrators (Section 29A) belongs strictly to the “Court” defined in the Act—which usually means the Principal Civil or Commercial Court. Just because the High Court made the initial intro doesn’t mean it keeps the keys to the house. Those too.
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The Arbitration Jurisdictional Map
| Provision | Action | Which Court? | Why? |
| Section 11 | Appointing Arbitrator | High Court / Supreme Court | Limited, special power to start the process. |
| Section 29A | Extending Time / Substituting | Principal Civil / Commercial Court | Curial supervision as defined in Sec 2(1)(e). |
| Section 42 | Consolidated Jurisdiction | Does NOT apply to Sec 11 | Appointment isn’t a “supervisory” act. |
And Here’s the Kicker…
This settles a huge split between High Courts across India. Some, like Delhi and Calcutta, were insisting they had “residual power” because they were “superior.” The Supreme Court just shut that down, saying that interpretation is “antithetical to the rule of law.” The thing is, if the law says a District Judge handles it, then the District Judge handles it. Even if a High Court Judge made the first phone call. Or nothing.
One side comment—this makes arbitrations a lot cheaper and faster for businesses. You don’t have to hire “Senior Counsel” to fly to a High Court just to ask for another three months of time. It’s an ongoing situation. Those too.
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End…
