To obtain interim relief in a Delhi arbitration, you file a petition under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — captioned as an O.M.P. (I) (COMM.) — before the Commercial Court or the Commercial Division of the Delhi High Court, depending on the value of the dispute. You can file it before, during, or after the arbitration (up to enforcement of the award under Section 36), and for urgent matters you can seek an ex-parte ad-interim order the same day by mentioning it on the Urgent Board after serving an advance copy on the opposite side.
Section 9 lets a party ask a court — not the arbitral tribunal — to grant interim measures such as an injunction, a freeze on assets, preservation of property, or a receiver, to protect the subject matter of the arbitration until the dispute is finally decided.
This guide sets out which Delhi court to approach, the exact filing steps, the Section 9(3) trap once a tribunal is constituted, the tests the court applies, and the verified 2022–2026 case law — including the Supreme Court's April 2026 ruling that changed who can file a Section 9 petition after the award.
What Section 9 Covers
Section 9(1) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 empowers a court to grant interim measures of protection. The reliefs available include: securing the amount in dispute in the arbitration; preservation, interim custody or sale of goods that are the subject matter of the agreement; detention, preservation or inspection of property; an interim injunction; and the appointment of a receiver.
A Section 9 application can be made at three temporal windows: before the arbitral proceedings begin, during the proceedings, and after the arbitral award is made but before it is enforced under Section 36. This three-stage availability is the single most useful feature of Section 9 — it means a party is not left without protection during the gaps when a tribunal is not yet in place or has become functus officio after the award.
The power under Section 9 is deliberately wide. In Essar House Pvt. Ltd. v. Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel India Ltd. ((2022) 10 SCC 1; 2022 INSC 955), the Supreme Court held that the court's Section 9 power to secure the amount in dispute is wider than Order XXXVIII Rule 5 CPC — a "strong possibility of diminution of assets" is enough, and the applicant need not prove actual attempts by the respondent to dissipate property (indiankanoon.org/doc/66769063).
Which Court to Approach in Delhi
Because every arbitration under a commercial contract is a "commercial dispute" under the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, the correct forum is decided by the Specified Value of the dispute:
| Type / value of dispute | Court to file Section 9 |
|---|---|
| Commercial dispute of Specified Value below ₹2 crore | Commercial Court (District Judge level) — e.g. Tis Hazari, Saket |
| Commercial dispute of Specified Value ₹2 crore and above | Commercial Division, High Court of Delhi |
| International commercial arbitration (a party is foreign) | High Court of Delhi, regardless of value |
Getting the forum wrong is the most common reason a Section 9 petition is returned. The Specified Value must be pleaded and the jurisdictional endorsement must state both that the dispute is "commercial" and its pecuniary value. The pecuniary limit for Delhi's Commercial Courts (₹3 lakh floor, ₹2 crore ceiling below the High Court) flows from the Commercial Courts Act read with the applicable Delhi notifications.
Step-by-Step Filing Procedure at Delhi HC
For a Section 9 petition before the Commercial Division of the Delhi High Court, the petition is numbered O.M.P. (I) (COMM.) No. _/20__ and must contain:
- Cause title — "IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI (Commercial Division), O.M.P. (I) (COMM.) No. _/20, IN THE MATTER OF ARBITRATION UNDER THE ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION ACT, 1996", followed by "PETITION UNDER SECTION 9".
- Jurisdictional endorsement — confirming the dispute is commercial and stating its Specified Value.
- The full arbitration clause — reproduced verbatim, plus the underlying contract.
- Synopsis and list of dates — a short chronology of the facts giving rise to the urgency.
- Grounds for interim relief — the three tests (below), and, if a tribunal is already constituted, why the Section 17 remedy is not efficacious.
- Proof of advance service — an email or courier record showing the respondent was served an advance copy.
- Vakalatnama, affidavit, and court fee.
Court fee: filing a Section 9 petition at the Delhi High Court attracts a fixed nominal court fee (in the region of ₹15,000 under the Delhi High Court fee schedule) rather than an ad valorem fee, because it is a petition and not a suit for recovery. Always confirm the current figure against the live Delhi High Court fee schedule before filing, as schedules are revised periodically.
Section 9(3): The Critical Trap When the Tribunal Is Already Constituted
Section 9(3), inserted by the 2015 Amendment, provides that once the arbitral tribunal has been constituted, the court shall not entertain a Section 9 application unless it finds that circumstances exist which may not render the remedy under Section 17 efficacious. This is the provision most junior advocates miss.
After the tribunal is constituted, a court will hear a Section 9 petition only if you can show that going to the tribunal under Section 17 would not be an effective remedy.
Circumstances that courts have accepted as making Section 17 "not efficacious" include: the tribunal members being unavailable (illness or travel); the constitution of the tribunal itself being under challenge; an imminent bank-guarantee encashment leaving no time to approach the tribunal; and a foreign-seated tribunal with no speedy Section 17 mechanism.
There is a crucial saving rule. In Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel India Ltd. v. Essar Bulk Terminal Ltd. ((2022) 1 SCC 712), the Supreme Court held that the word "entertain" in Section 9(3) means "to consider by application of mind" — so if the court had already entertained the petition before the tribunal was constituted, the Section 9(3) bar does not operate retroactively, and the court can proceed to pronounce its order (indiankanoon.org/doc/110706470). The Delhi High Court has applied the same efficacy test in Welspun Enterprises Ltd. v. Kasthuri Infra Projects (P) Ltd. (2024 SCC OnLine Del 4849), granting Section 9 relief only where urgency was shown and Section 17 was inefficacious.
Getting Urgent Ad-Interim Relief: The Mentioning Procedure
For genuinely urgent matters — an injunction to stop a bank guarantee being invoked, for example — the sequence is:
- Serve an advance copy on the respondent (email, with a delivery record) before filing.
- File and mention the matter on the Urgent Board on the day of filing.
- Ex-parte ad-interim order — the court, applying CPC Order XXXIX Rule 3 principles, may grant a short protective order (status quo or injunction), typically operative for 4–8 weeks.
- Notice, reply and arguments — the respondent is heard, and the petition is decided on notice over the following weeks or months.
A classic Delhi example is Sterlite Technologies Ltd. v. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (Delhi HC, 2021), where the court restrained encashment of a bank guarantee under Section 9 and directed status quo pending the tribunal entering upon reference.
The Three Tests for Interim Relief
A court grants Section 9 relief on the classic tripod that governs interim injunctions:
- Prima facie case — a strong arguable case, not full proof.
- Balance of convenience — the harm to the applicant if relief is refused outweighs the harm to the respondent if it is granted.
- Irreparable harm — serious injury that money cannot adequately compensate.
- (If the tribunal is constituted) — that the Section 17 remedy is not efficacious.
Post-Award Section 9: The 2026 Supreme Court Ruling That Changed Everything
The most important recent development is Home Care Retail Marts Pvt. Ltd. v. Haresh N. Sanghavi (2026 INSC 415; 2026 LiveLaw (SC) 425), decided on 24 April 2026 by Justices Manoj Misra and Manmohan.
The Supreme Court held that any party to an arbitration agreement — including the party that LOST the arbitration — may file a Section 9 petition for interim measures at the post-award stage, up to enforcement under Section 36.
Before this ruling, the High Courts were split: Bombay, Delhi, Madras and Karnataka had held that an unsuccessful party could not maintain a post-award Section 9 petition, while Telangana, Gujarat and Punjab & Haryana had held that the statute draws no distinction between winner and loser. The Supreme Court settled the conflict, reasoning that neither Section 2(h) nor Section 9 distinguishes between a successful and an unsuccessful party — "the meaning of the expression 'a party' cannot be contextually modulated" by the outcome. The full judgment is available on the Supreme Court website (2026 INSC 415, api.sci.gov.in).
The practical catch: the threshold for an unsuccessful party is higher. The Court directed that judges exercise "care, caution and circumspection", requiring a strong prima facie case, a strong balance of convenience and strong irreparable harm before granting relief to the losing party.
Key Case Law Table
| Case | Citation | Holding you can rely on |
|---|---|---|
| Home Care Retail Marts v. Haresh N. Sanghavi | 2026 INSC 415 | Unsuccessful party may file post-award Section 9; higher threshold applies |
| Essar House v. Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel | (2022) 10 SCC 1 | Section 9 power wider than Order XXXVIII Rule 5 CPC |
| Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel v. Essar Bulk Terminal | (2022) 1 SCC 712 | "Entertain" in 9(3) = apply mind; bar not retroactive |
| Amazon.com NV v. Future Retail | (2022) 1 SCC 209 | Emergency arbitrator's order enforceable as a Section 17 order |
| Hindustan Construction Co. v. Union of India | (2020) 17 SCC 324 | Section 87 struck down; Section 9 protects award-holders |
| Welspun Enterprises v. Kasthuri Infra | 2024 SCC OnLine Del 4849 | Post-constitution relief only if Section 17 inefficacious |
How Long It Takes and What It Costs
A Section 9 petition is typically first listed within 3–10 working days, and same or next day if the Urgent Board is invoked. An ad-interim order can come on the very first date of listing in an urgent matter. Final disposal of a contested Section 9 petition in a complex commercial matter usually takes 6 to 18 months. The principal costs are the fixed court fee (around ₹15,000 at the High Court), counsel's fees, and drafting — modest compared with the value typically protected.
When You Need an Advocate
Section 9 is not a do-it-yourself remedy. The forum question (Commercial Court vs Commercial Division), the Section 9(3) efficacy argument, and the framing of urgency for an ex-parte order all turn on advocacy and precedent that a litigant-in-person will struggle to marshal. A junior advocate handling a first Section 9 petition should invest heavily in the research: the correct forum, the latest efficacy precedents, and — after April 2026 — whether your client is the successful or unsuccessful party, because that changes the entire threshold.
For advocates researching related commercial-recovery remedies, see our guide on compounding a Section 138 NI Act cheque-bounce conviction, and for Delhi-specific procedure our walkthrough of Section 25B Delhi Rent Control Act eviction filing.
How Urava Helps
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I file a Section 9 petition before the arbitration has even started?
Yes. Section 9 expressly allows an application "before" the commencement of arbitral proceedings. You must, however, show a valid arbitration agreement and a genuine, present intention to arbitrate — courts will not grant Section 9 relief to a party that has no real intention of pursuing arbitration. This pre-arbitration window is commonly used to freeze assets or restrain a bank-guarantee encashment.
What is the court fee for a Section 9 petition at the Delhi High Court?
A Section 9 petition attracts a fixed, nominal court fee — in the region of ₹15,000 under the Delhi High Court fee schedule — rather than an ad-valorem fee, because it is a petition, not a recovery suit. Always confirm the current amount against the live Delhi High Court fee schedule before filing, as the schedule is revised from time to time.
Can I still go to court under Section 9 after the arbitral tribunal is formed?
Only if you show the Section 17 remedy would not be efficacious. Section 9(3) bars the court from entertaining a fresh Section 9 application once the tribunal is constituted, unless circumstances — such as tribunal unavailability, an imminent guarantee encashment, or a foreign-seated tribunal — make the tribunal's own interim-relief power ineffective. If the court had already begun hearing your petition earlier, the bar does not apply.
Can the party that lost the arbitration file a Section 9 petition?
Yes, after the Supreme Court's April 2026 ruling in Home Care Retail Marts v. Haresh N. Sanghavi. An unsuccessful party can seek post-award interim measures under Section 9 up to enforcement under Section 36, but faces a higher threshold — a strong prima facie case, strong balance of convenience and strong irreparable harm — with courts directed to act with care and circumspection.
How quickly can I get an ad-interim order under Section 9?
In a genuinely urgent matter you can obtain an ex-parte ad-interim order on the same day. After serving an advance copy on the respondent, you mention the matter on the Urgent Board on the day of filing; the court, applying CPC Order XXXIX Rule 3 principles, may grant a short protective order (status quo or injunction) usually operative for 4–8 weeks, before hearing the respondent on notice.
What is the difference between Section 9 and Section 17 relief?
Section 9 relief is granted by a court; Section 17 relief is granted by the arbitral tribunal itself, and a Section 17 order is enforceable like a court order. Once the tribunal is constituted, Section 9(3) pushes parties towards Section 17 unless it is inefficacious. Choose Section 9 before the tribunal exists, or where the tribunal cannot act quickly enough.