Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal at DAW 2025.
Law Minister Arjun Ram Megwal Calls for Amendment of Section 34 of Arbitration Act: New Delhi, 22nd September 2025 – The Minister of State for Law & Justice, Arjun Ram Meghwal, called for a reexamination of Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, urging that now is the right time to revisit its provisions to improve the arbitration process in India.
Speaking at the valedictory session of the Delhi Arbitration Weekend (DAW) on Sunday, Meghwal emphasized that the time had come to reassess how courts handle the setting aside of arbitral awards under Section 34. The provision currently allows parties to challenge arbitral awards, but the Minister suggested it may be time to reconsider whether its application is hindering India’s dispute resolution process.
“After a period of reflection, I feel it’s time to revisit Section 34. If you have suggestions on how to improve it, please send them to us — your feedback will help make my work easier,” Meghwal said, highlighting that such reforms are crucial for enhancing India’s arbitration framework.
The Minister’s call comes at a time when India continues to grapple with a significant backlog of legal cases, particularly in commercial disputes. Meghwal noted that strengthening alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms was critical for tackling the growing pendency of cases and accelerating India’s economic growth.
“Business cannot thrive without effective ADR mechanisms. Cases are pending for years, and there needs to be an alternative dispute resolution mechanism that’s both timely and efficient,” he added, stressing the need for institutionalized and robust arbitration frameworks.
Meghwal referred to key legislative interventions such as the Mediation Act, 2023, the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, and the India International Arbitration Centre Act, 2019, which were designed to promote faster and more effective dispute resolution.
However, responding to ongoing concerns over the delay in constituting the Mediation Council of India, as mandated by the Mediation Act, the Minister assured the audience that the government was “moving very fast” on the matter and that “good news” would follow soon.
The Minister further reiterated the government’s vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, highlighting how timely resolution of commercial disputes would unlock resources for reinvestment, boost trade and entrepreneurship, and help India transition from being the fourth-largest economy to the third-largest by 2047.
READ: Supreme Court Stays Some Provisions of Waqf Amendment Act 2025
Delhi Arbitration Conference – DAW 2025.
READ: Supreme Court Declares Housing a Fundamental Right, Tightens Rules for New Projects
The Role of Arbitration in India’s Economic Future
Supreme Court Judge Justice Surya Kant, who also spoke at the DAW closing session, shared his perspective on the legitimacy of arbitration, emphasizing that independence and integrity are the two fundamental pillars on which arbitration rests.
“Independence ensures freedom from external influences, while integrity assures fairness, transparency, and confidence. Without these pillars, arbitration risks becoming a hollow process,” Justice Kant warned, calling for more rigorous enforcement of these principles.
Justice Kant also highlighted that India’s statutory framework already includes provisions for neutrality, such as Section 12, which mandates the disclosure of any circumstances that may raise doubts about an arbitrator’s impartiality. He pointed out that while courts have largely adhered to these rules, they have expanded their interpretation to include the perception of bias, which can undermine the confidence in the arbitration process.
However, the Supreme Court Judge also cautioned that the growth of arbitration in India is threatened by delays. “If arbitration starts to resemble litigation, it risks losing its very purpose,” he said. Justice Kant advocated for stricter case management and tighter controls on adjournments, along with the adoption of institutional best practices such as model procedural rules and conferences.
On the issue of enforcement, he addressed concerns around the “public policy” exception under Section 48, which could be used to challenge foreign arbitral awards. He warned that such exceptions should be narrowly interpreted to prevent them from becoming a “cloak for interventionism” by courts.
READ: Supreme Court Clarifies Distinction Between Murder and Attempt to Murder: Why the Ruling Matters
A Global Perspective on Arbitration
The keynote speaker, Gary Born, Chair of the International Arbitration Practice Group at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, traced the evolution of arbitration as a method of resolving disputes across different cultures and epochs. Born emphasized that arbitration has been used for centuries, from ancient Mesopotamia’s Stele of the Vultures to medieval trade fairs, and even in the Ramayana and Islamic traditions.
He outlined the historical challenges arbitration faced, including 19th-century U.S. court rulings that made arbitration agreements unenforceable, as well as Napoleonic restrictions in France and authoritarian regimes that outlawed arbitration to protect their judicial monopolies.
However, Born noted a significant turnaround in the 20th century, particularly through the adoption of the Geneva Protocol, the Geneva Convention, and the New York Convention of 1958, which established the modern framework for international arbitration. Born described the New York Convention as the “global constitutional charter for international commercial arbitration,” stating that it had made arbitration agreements and awards enforceable across more than 170 contracting parties, with only limited exceptions.
Moving Forward: A Reformed Arbitration Landscape
The discussions at DAW underscored the urgent need for a reformed and more efficient arbitration system in India, one that can cater to both domestic and international disputes in a timely and transparent manner. As India moves toward its vision of becoming a global economic powerhouse by 2047, reforms to the arbitration process could be key in unlocking new avenues for trade, investment, and entrepreneurship.
With Minister Meghwal’s call to revisit Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act and the judicial emphasis on integrity and efficiency, it seems India is taking steps to strengthen its ADR landscape and align it with global best practices. The coming months may bring significant developments in this area as the government and the legal community collaborate to address the challenges of commercial dispute resolution in India.
READ: Six Additional Judges of Bombay High Court Appointed as Permanent Judges
