Calcutta High Court Rejects Section 8 Plea for Want of Written Arbitration Agreement

The Calcutta High Court held that a Section 8 application under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 is not maintainable without a written arbitration agreement as required under Section 7.

The Court noted that no written contract existed between Flint Group India Pvt. Ltd. and the defendant containing an arbitration clause, thereby barring reference of the suit to arbitration.

Reliance on a 2019 distributorship agreement executed with Flint Netherlands was rejected as the plaintiff disclosed no material connecting the dispute to that agreement. The Court also declined to apply the “group of companies” doctrine and dismissed the application with costs of ₹10,000.

[Flint Group India Pvt. Ltd. v Sujay Lodha]