Firm Matters

Khaitan & Co advised and successfully represented Siemens Ltd before the Bombay High Court in Commercial Arbitration Petition No 996 of 2019 filed by Paharpur Cooling Towers Ltd (“Petitioner”) under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (“Act”).

The said Petition challenged certain findings in an arbitral award dated 27 February 2019, including Siemens Ltd’s risk purchase claim, the award of liquidated damages for delay attributable to the Petitioner, and rejection of Petitioner’s counterclaim seeking refund of amounts recovered by Siemens through encashment of advance and performance bank guarantees.

By judgment dated 8 June 2026, the Bombay High Court dismissed the said Petition and upheld the arbitral award in full on all challenged issues. The Court held that the Arbitral Tribunal had adopted a reasoned and plausible approach in awarding Siemens’ risk purchase claim, attributing delay to the Petitioner and awarding liquidated damages, and interpreting the contractual provisions justifying encashment of bank guarantees. The Court also reaffirmed the limited scope of interference under Section 34 of the Act with reasoned arbitral findings.