The Supreme Court of India, in a significant judgment on arbitration law, has allowed appeals filed by the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corp. Ltd. (IRCTC) and set aside an arbitral award that had granted claims worth crores to railway caterers.

A bench comprising Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma held that the arbitral award was “patently illegal” and “in conflict with the public policy of India” because the arbitrator had “practically rewrote the contract” by overlooking binding policy circulars issued by the Railway Board.

The dispute centered on claims by caterers, including M/s. Brandavan Food Products (BFP), for reimbursement for (1) providing a “second regular meal” at the price of a “combo meal” and (2) supplying “welcome drinks” for which no separat

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