SC says no to naming new arbitrator in Religare-Zee case

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a Religare Finvest appeal seeking appointment of a new arbitrator in a dispute with Zee group of companies, including Windscreen Holdings and Asian Satellite Broadcast.

A bench led by chief justice DY Chandrachud said it was not inclined to interfere with the Delhi High Court's order extending the mandate of the arbitral tribunal till October 31.

Religare Finvest had challenged the high court order saying it was passed in the absence of any application seeking an extension of the mandate of the arbitrator. It further said that the order overlooked the fact that the consistent delay in the arbitral proceedings was directly attributable to the arbitrator. No effective hearing had taken place in the arbitration proceedings since 2023, argued senior counsel S Niranjan Reddy, appearing for Religare Finvest.


The issue relates to about Rs 200 crore loan taken by these group companies from Religare Finvest in 2014. They had provided securities for the loan. However, they failed to repay the debt and, hence, arbitration proceedings were initiated in May 2019 and former Delhi High Court judge Rekha Sharma was appointed as the sole arbitrator.