Judgments that changed what contractors can claim.
Five Supreme Court rulings that directly affect arbitration rights, award enforcement, and payment claims on NHAI and government construction contracts. Plain-English summaries with the one thing your contracts team should do differently because of each case.
Case summaries
Each card shows a coloured top bar: green for contractor-positive outcomes. Click into any case for the full background, what the court decided, and the specific action your contracts manager should take.
Ssangyong Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd vs NHAI
(2019) 15 SCC 131
Arbitrator Appointment / Patent Illegality
Ssangyong, a Korean EPC contractor executing a highway project for NHAI, challenged the arbitration clause in the Model Concession Agreement. The clause allowed NHAI to unilaterally appoint the sole arbitrator. Ssangyong argued that this violated the 2015 Amendment to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, which bars a party who has an interest in the outcome from appointing the arbitrator.
Read full analysisPerkins Eastman Architects DPC vs HSCC (India) Ltd
(2020) 20 SCC 760
Unilateral Arbitrator Appointment
Perkins Eastman challenged an arbitration clause in its contract with HSCC (a government PSU) under which HSCC's own CMD had the power to appoint the sole arbitrator. Perkins argued that a person who is an employee or officer of one of the parties, or who has an interest in the outcome, cannot appoint an arbitrator under the 2015 Amendment.
Read full analysisNHAI vs M. Hakeem & Anr
(2021) 9 SCC 1
Scope of Court Interference: Award Modification
NHAI challenged an arbitral award by seeking to modify it under Section 34 of the Arbitration Act. The High Court had partially set aside and partially modified the award by reducing the amount awarded to the contractor. NHAI argued that Section 34 courts have the power to modify awards rather than only setting them aside entirely.
Read full analysisDelhi Airport Metro Express Pvt Ltd (DAMEPL) vs DMRC
Civil Appeal No. 5038/2017 (SC 2024)
PPP Termination / Concession Enforcement
DAMEPL (the private concessionaire for the Delhi Airport Metro link) terminated the concession agreement after citing DMRC's failure to rectify track defects that made operations unsafe. An arbitral tribunal awarded DAMEPL approximately ₹2,782 crore plus interest. The Delhi HC Division Bench set aside this award under Section 37, finding patent illegality. DAMEPL appealed to the Supreme Court.
Read full analysisM/s Unibros vs All India Radio
(2023) 11 SCC 55
Interest on Arbitral Awards
Unibros, a contractor, had an arbitral award in its favour against All India Radio. A dispute arose about the interest rate applicable on the awarded amount during the pre-award and post-award periods. The contractor argued for 18% interest; the government argued for a lower rate. The Arbitration Act allows arbitrators to set their own interest rates but courts had been inconsistent.
Read full analysisThese judgments protect your rights. Only if you assert them.
Ssangyong and Perkins Eastman voided unilateral arbitrator appointments in 2019. Five years later, contractors are still participating in arbitrations before unilaterally-appointed tribunals without objecting. A right you don't assert is a right you've waived. Your contracts team needs to know these cases before the dispute arises, not after.
Find more case law
These five cases are the most contractor-relevant rulings of the last five years. For comprehensive case research, use these portals directly.
Free full-text search of Supreme Court and High Court judgments. Search 'NHAI contractor arbitration' for the full case library.
indiankanoon.org/search/?formInput=NHAI+contractor+arbitration
Official SC judgment archive. All judgments from 1950 onwards. Search by party name or case number.
main.sci.gov.in/
Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration publishes construction arbitration analysis specific to Indian infrastructure contracts.
mcia.org.in/
The law is on your side. The documentation has to be too.
Every case here turned on contemporaneous records. DAMEPL won because DMRC's failure to act on defect notices was in writing. CivilBolt structures your correspondence and site records so the evidence exists when you need it.