Singapore Court voids award over copied content

The Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC) has annulled an ₹80.29 crore arbitration award issued by three retired Indian judges, finding they had copied extensively from previous rulings. The court determined 157 of 176 substantive paragraphs were reproduced from prior awards without proper case analysis.

The case involved a 2016 contract dispute regarding India's Dedicated Freight Corridor project. A construction consortium sought additional payments following wage revisions, which the government SPV rejected. In June 2024, the arbitration tribunal had ruled 2-1 in favor of the consortium.

The decision follows another recent case where Singapore's Court of Appeal set aside an award chaired by former CJI Dipak Misra. That ruling contained substantial portions copied from previous decisions. The SICC noted the current tribunal had cited non-existent contract clauses and applied incorrect law, errors attributed to reliance on prior rulings.