SC: Unstamped arbitration agreements are enforceable

A seven-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Wednesday overruled the verdict of a five-judge bench and held that arbitration clauses in unstamped or inadequately stamped agreements are enforceable. A bench of CJI DY Chandrachud and Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, BR Gavai, Surya Kant, JB Pardiwala, Manoj Misra and Sanjiv Khanna ruled that non-stamping or insufficient stamping of an agreement has nothing to do with the validity of the document as it is a curable defect. It said an arbitration agreement or its certified copy are not rendered void or unenforceable because it is unstamped or insufficiently stamped.