Section 9 Petition Maintainability – SPA Arbitration Clause

Section 9 AA – Maintainability – SPA Arbitration Clause  & MOU

Judgment dated 11.5.2026 of the High Court of Delhi in O.M.P (I) (COMM) 198/2026 of M/s Shanti Developers  Vs.  Virendra Singh

Clause 19 of the Special Power of Attorney in respect of first floor of the property provided for arbitration as follows-

“19. 4. In case of any dispute/discrepancies will be sorted out by appointing an arbitrator with mutual consent.”

Subsequently, after the transfer of the first floor, there was MoU to secure and regulate the repayment and liability arising from the SPA.   It was an extension and continuation of the arrangement in the SPA.  However, MoU did not contain arbitration.

The petitioner claimed section 9 interim reliefs.

HELD that MoU is a fresh and independent arrangement on the rights and obligations in respect of the ground floor of the property as also financial liabilities allegedly subsisting at the relevant time.  However, they are independent of the rights and obligations flowing from the SPA.

The MoU, on its plain terms, operates in a distinct contractual field, governs separate rights and obligations, and concerns a different portion of the Subject Property altogether. The absence of any incorporation clause or reference to arbitration therefore assumes considerable significance.

In the present case, no direct, explicit, or legally discernible nexus can be said to exist between the MoU and the arbitration clause contained in the SPA, more so when the two arrangements independently govern distinct portions of the Subject Property and operate within separate contractual frameworks, without any express correlation or interlinkage between them. In the considered opinion of this Court, such circumstances cannot be construed as resulting in incorporation of the arbitration clause contained in the SPA into the subsequent MoU, particularly in the absence of any express stipulation to that effect.