16 Jul 2026
The Trilegal Dispute Resolution Team advising on the matter was led by Partners: Himanshu Sinha, Chitra Rentala and Atul Jain; and comprised Senior Associate: Alabh Anant Lal; and Associates: Abhimanyu Chaturvedi and Prabhu Gupta.
Matter Overview | Trilegal successfully represented ONGC before the Bombay High Court in a post-award petition under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (Arbitration Act), arising out of an EPC contract for an offshore petroleum facility in Mumbai High South.
By an award, the arbitral tribunal dismissed ONGC’s counterclaim for liquidated damages for delay in the completion of the contract and directed the return of the bank guarantees furnished by the counterparty to secure ONGC’s liquidated damages claim. As the bank guarantees were due to expire on 15 July 2026, ONGC filed a petition under Section 9 of the Arbitration Act seeking renewal of bank guarantees. ONGC also filed a petition under Section 34 of the Arbitration Act seeking setting aside of the award, which is presently pending.
By judgment dated 10 July 2026 (Hon’ble Mr. J. Amit Borkar), the Court allowed the petition and directed Afcons to renew, extend and keep alive all the bank guarantees, pending final disposal of ONGC’s petition under Section 34 of the Arbitration Act. The Court further directed Afcons to take steps for renewal at least fifteen days before expiry and restrained it from taking any steps towards cancellation, discharge or release of the bank guarantees.
Matter Significance | The matter demonstrates the exceptional threshold for obtaining post-award interim protection under Section 9 of the Arbitration Act at the instance of a party who has been unsuccessful in the arbitration. In Home Care Retail Marts Pvt. Ltd. v. Haresh N. Sanghavi, 2026 SCC Online SC 670, the Supreme Court held that such a party must demonstrate “rare and compelling circumstances”, which is beyond a prima facie case, balance of convenience and irreparable injury, to obtain relief under Section 9 of the Arbitration Act. Further, the same learned Judge (Hon’ble Mr. J Amir Borkar) had, shortly before, declined post-award protection to ONGC in ONGC v. Swiber Offshore Construction Pte. Ltd, relying on the “rare and compelling circumstances” test. The present judgment positively identifies the factors in which the high bar of “rare and compelling circumstances” will be met.
About Trilegal
Trilegal is a leading full-service law firm in India with over 25 years of experience, trusted for its in-depth expertise and client-centric approach. The firm advises a diverse set of clients, including Fortune 500 companies, global investment funds, major Indian conglomerates, domestic and international banks, technology and media giants, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals. With 161 partners operating under a distinctive lockstep model, Trilegal is the largest equity partnership in the country. The firm retains over 1,300 professionals across its Mumbai, Delhi, Gurugram, Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune, and GIFT City offices.
Trilegal has consistently been recognised among India’s top-tier firms in leading legal directories such as Chambers & Partners (Asia Pacific and Global), Legal 500 Asia Pacific, and Benchmark Litigation. It has also earned several prestigious accolades, including being named Law Firm of the Year at the ET Global Legal Awards2026, Best Overall Law Firm by India Business Law Journal (IBLJ) 2025, Innovative Lawyers in Disputes & Crisis Management by the Financial Times (FT) Innovative Lawyers Asia-Pacific Awards in 2025, M&A Firm of the Year by IFLR Asia-Pacific in 2024.
For more information, please get in touch with Prakruti Jani | Mob: +91-9867868976 | BD@trilegal.com.
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