Arbitration Reference – Grossly Belated – Not allowed

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In the case of L&T Himachal Hydro Power Limited vs. Government of Himachal Pradesh and Another (2026), the High Court of Himachal Pradesh dismissed an application filed by the State to refer a dispute to arbitration, ruling that the request was grossly belated and that the State had waived its right to arbitration by participating in writ proceedings for seven years,,.

Case Background

L&T Himachal Hydro Power Limited (the petitioner) filed a writ petition in 2018 challenging the State’s failure to refund an upfront premium of Rs. 84 Crores after the petitioner withdrew from the Reoli-Dugli Hydro Electric Power Project,. The petitioner argued that the project had become techno-economically unviable and that the State’s forfeiture of the deposit was arbitrary and unconstitutional under Article 14,.

While the Pre-Implementation Agreement (PIA) between the parties contained an arbitration clause (Clause 53), the State did not move to invoke it via a formal application until November 2025, long after the writ petition had been active and arguments had nearly concluded,,.

Key Legal Issues and Findings

  • Statutory Deadline under Section 8: The Court emphasized that under the amended Section 8 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, an application to refer a dispute to arbitration must be filed “not later than the date of submitting [the] first statement on the substance of the dispute”,,.
  • Waiver by Conduct: The respondents filed their detailed reply to the writ petition in September 2018,. The Court held that this reply constituted their “first statement”. By waiting until 2025—seven years later—to file the Section 8 application, the respondents were statutorily barred from seeking a reference to arbitration,,.
  • Insufficiency of Preliminary Objections: The State argued that they had raised the arbitration clause as a preliminary objection in their 2018 reply,. However, the Court ruled that merely mentioning the clause in a reply is insufficient; a party must take proactive steps to file a Section 8 application at the threshold,,.
  • Submission to Jurisdiction: The Court noted that a party who willingly participates in court proceedings and subjects themselves to its jurisdiction cannot later “turn around” and demand arbitration,. In this case, the State had participated in numerous hearings and even obtained orders regarding the re-allotment of the project during the pendency of the writ,,.
  • Maintainability of Writ Jurisdiction: The Court affirmed that writ jurisdiction was appropriate because the dispute involved the arbitrary forfeiture of public money, which raises public law issues and constitutional rights that exist notwithstanding an arbitration clause,.

Conclusion

The High Court dismissed the State’s applications for arbitration, finding they were an attempt to “oust the constitutional jurisdiction” of the Court after years of participation,. The Court ordered the original writ petitions to be listed for final hearing .

STPL (Web) 2026 HP 214

L&T Himachal Hydro Power Limited V. Government Of Himachal Pradesh And Another(D.O.J. 06.05.2026)

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Criminal Procedure: Court power to take additional documents on record during Proceedings.

May 11, 2026 No Comments

In the case of Roopa Devi vs. Ram Kumar Verma and Ors. (2026), the High Court of Himachal Pradesh addressed the limitations of the court’s power to take additional documents on record during criminal proceedings.

Case Background

The petitioner (Roopa Devi) challenged an order passed by a Judicial Magistrate in a criminal case involving allegations under Sections 500 and 501 of the IPC. The lower court had allowed an application filed by the accused under Section 311 of the CrPC, permitting them to place on record a copy of a challan, FIR, and other investigation proceedings against the petitioner before the trial had effectively commenced.

Key Legal Issues and Findings

The High Court quashed the lower court’s order based on the following legal principles:

  • Misuse of Section 311 CrPC: The Court clarified that Section 311 of the CrPC is specifically designed to empower a court to summon, recall, or re-examine witnesses. It does not grant the court the power to take additional documentary evidence on record.
  • Proper Procedure (Section 91 CrPC): The Court noted that the appropriate remedy for summoning or producing documents is Section 91 of the CrPC.
  • Timing for Defense Evidence: Importantly, the Court held that an accused cannot invoke Section 91 to produce material before the prosecution’s evidence has closed. The law does not grant the accused a right to file documents at the stage of framing charges or taking cognizance; such evidence can only be led later during the defense evidence stage.
  • No “Mini-Trial” at Framing of Charge: Citing Supreme Court precedents, the Court emphasized that at the stage of framing charges, the trial judge must only examine the material provided by the prosecution to determine if there are sufficient grounds to proceed. The court should not conduct a “mini-trial” by evaluating the accused’s defense material at that threshold.

Conclusion

The High Court found that the trial court erred in allowing the accused to place documents on record under Section 311 CrPC, especially since the petitioner’s evidence had not yet commenced. Consequently, the High Court allowed the petition and quashed the order dated November 25, 2023.

STPL (Web) 2026 HP 220

Roopa Devi V. Sh. Ram Kumar Verma And Ors. (D.O.J. 04.05.2026)

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Assault and criminal intimidation: Acquittal is reasonable and justified view

May 11, 2026 No Comments

In the case of State of H.P. vs. Ravi Dogra (2026), the High Court of Himachal Pradesh dismissed an appeal by the State and upheld the acquittal of an accused charged with assault and criminal intimidation.

Case Background

The prosecution alleged that on May 31, 2009, the informant (Ranbir Singh) confronted the accused, Ravi Dogra, because the accused’s factory laborers were defecating in the informant’s field. According to the informant, the accused responded by abusing him and attacking him with a sickle, causing injuries to both of his hands. The accused was subsequently charged under Sections 323, 324, and 504 of the IPC.

Key Reasons for Acquittal

The High Court agreed with the Trial Court that the prosecution’s case was filled with inconsistencies and lacked sufficient evidence:

  • Shifted Narrative and Location: The initial police entry recorded that the informant was being beaten by 2–3 persons outside a motor workshop. However, in court, the story changed to a single assailant (the accused) attacking him near his house.
  • Questionable Motive: Both the informant and other witnesses admitted that the informant had sold the land in question approximately 1.5 years before the incident. The Court found that if he no longer owned the land, he had no logical reason to complain about open defecation.
  • Lack of Physical Evidence: The Investigating Officer failed to find any signs of open defecation at the site or a path leading from the accused’s house to the informant’s field.
  • Medical Discrepancies: The informant claimed he was struck twice with a sharp sickle. However, medical evidence showed only one incised wound (caused by a sharp weapon) and one abrasion (caused by a blunt weapon). The Court noted that in the case of a sharp weapon, the law presumes the sharp side was used unless the prosecution specifically proves otherwise.
  • Absence of Independent Witnesses: Although the incident allegedly took place at night in a heavily populated bazaar with many people and laborers nearby, the prosecution failed to examine any independent witnesses.

Legal Principles Applied

The High Court emphasized that its power to interfere with an acquittal is limited. Under settled law, an appellate court can only overturn an acquittal if the lower court’s judgment is “patently perverse” or based on a gross misreading of evidence. If two reasonable views of the evidence are possible, the view that favors the accused’s acquittal must be upheld.

Conclusion

Finding that the Trial Court had taken a reasonable and justified view of the various infirmities in the case, the High Court dismissed the State’s appeal. The accused was directed to furnish bail bonds under Section 437-A of the CrPC to ensure his appearance should the matter be appealed further to the Supreme Court.

STPL (Web) 2026 HP 219

State of H.P.  V. Ravi Dogra (D.O.J. 08.05.2026)

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Rash and Negligent Driving: Sentence Reduced

May 11, 2026 No Comments

In the case of Jai Pal vs. State of H.P. (2026), the High Court of Himachal Pradesh addressed a criminal revision petition regarding a conviction for rash and negligent driving that resulted in injuries to a pedestrian.

Case Background

In February 2009, during the Shivratri festival in Chirgaon Bazaar, the petitioner was driving a Bolero camper. While reversing the vehicle in the crowded market, he hit a pedestrian, causing both simple and grievous injuries,. The Trial Court convicted him under Sections 279, 337, and 338 of the IPC, and the Appellate Court later modified the sentence to three months of simple imprisonment,.

Key Legal Findings

The High Court’s decision focused on the following legal principles:

  • Violation of Road Regulations: The Court held that the petitioner violated Rule 31 of the Road Regulations 1989, which mandates that a driver must ensure a path is clear before reversing,. The Court emphasized that a crowded bazaar requires extra precautions, and the driver’s failure to ensure safety was the “proximate cause” of the accident,.
  • Narrow Revisional Jurisdiction: Under Section 397 CrPC, the Court noted its power is limited to correcting patent defects or errors of law,. It refused to re-evaluate factual findings regarding the traffic conditions or the driver’s negligence because the lower courts’ findings were not “perverse”,,.
  • Double Punishment for the Same Act: The Court found that punishing the accused under both Section 337 (negligently causing simple hurt) and Section 338 (negligently causing grievous hurt) for the same transaction was impermissible,. Since Section 338 is an aggravated form of Section 337, the sentence for the minor offense was set aside under the principles of Section 71 IPC,,.
  • Denial of Probation: The petitioner’s request for the benefit of the Probation of Offenders Act was rejected,. Citing Supreme Court precedents like Dalbir Singh v. State of Haryana, the Court ruled that due to the “alarming rise in road accidents,” the benevolent provisions of probation should generally not be extended to offenses involving rash and negligent driving,,.

Conclusion and Final Order

The High Court partly allowed the revision petition,. While it upheld the convictions under Sections 279 and 338 of the IPC and maintained the three-month imprisonment sentence, it set aside the sentence under Section 337 IPC

STPL (Web) 2026 HP 218

Jai Pal V. State of H.P. (D.O.J. 08.05.2026)

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Amendment of Plaint: After the trial had already concluded

May 11, 2026 No Comments

In the case of Chander Jot Singh vs. Dharam Singh & Others (2026), the High Court of Himachal Pradesh dismissed a petition challenging a lower court’s refusal to allow an amendment to a lawsuit after the trial had already concluded,.

Case Background

The petitioner (plaintiff) had originally filed a suit in 2011 for the specific performance of a sale agreement dated December 16, 2008,. After 11 years of litigation, the Trial Court dismissed the suit in June 2022,. While the case was on appeal, the plaintiff filed an application under Order VI Rule 17 of the CPC to amend his original complaint,.

The Proposed Amendment

The plaintiff sought to introduce facts regarding a registered Power of Attorney executed on the same day as the sale agreement,. He claimed that:

  • He had paid the full sale consideration of Rs. 6,30,000 at the time of the agreement,.
  • The Power of Attorney was an important document that had been handed to his previous counsel but was inadvertently omitted from the original pleadings due to a “bona fide mistake” by the lawyer,.

Court’s Legal Findings

The High Court upheld the First Appellate Court’s decision to reject the amendment based on several key legal principles:

  • Requirement of Due Diligence: Under the proviso to Order VI Rule 17 CPC, once a trial has commenced, an amendment can only be allowed if the party demonstrates that, despite due diligence, the matter could not have been raised earlier,,.
  • Insufficiency of Blaming Counsel: The Court ruled that simply blaming a lawyer for “inadvertence” or “oversight” does not satisfy the legal requirement for due diligence,. It noted that the case was pending for over a decade, providing ample time for the plaintiff to ensure all relevant facts were pleaded,.
  • Preventing “Floodgates”: The Court observed that if such amendments were allowed after a trial is lost, it would open the floodgates for every unsuccessful litigant to try and “fill up the lacuna” in their case by claiming counsel negligence,,.
  • Limited Scope of Article 227: The High Court emphasized that its supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227 of the Constitution is narrow,. It cannot act as a second appellate court to re-evaluate facts unless there is a gross abuse of jurisdiction or a manifest error of law, neither of which were present here,,.

Conclusion

The High Court concluded that the First Appellate Court had rightly appreciated the facts and that the proposed amendment was a “feeble attempt” to salvage a dismissed suit,. The petition was dismissed, and the parties were directed to continue with the existing appeal proceedings,

STPL (Web) 2026 HP 217

Chander Jot Singh V. Dharam Singh & Others (D.O.J.08.05.2026)

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