INDIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Anuradha Mukherjee, Omar Ahmad, Vikram Shah and Soumya Dasgupta, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas
enforcement of the settlement. Thereafter, if the settlement agreement is not adhered to, the party seeking to have the consent decree acted upon can file an application for execution of the consent decree in addition to applying for the initiation of contempt proceedings. Settlement in Case of Alternative Dispute Resolution If the parties to an arbitration settle the dispute, an arbitrator may pass an award based on the settlement terms and such settlement can be enforced in the same manner as an arbitral award before Indian courts. In the case of a settlement pursuant to concilia- tion, the settlement agreement has to be arrived at in the manner and form stipulated, and duly authenticated by the conciliator. Thereafter, such a settlement agreement would be final and bind- ing on the parties, and it shall have the same status and effect as an arbitral award. If parties have privately entered into an out-of- court settlement for the settlement of disputes that have not been the subject matter of a for- mal arbitration, conciliation or mediation, such a settlement agreement cannot be enforced as an arbitral award. Section 27 of the Mediation Act, 2023 states that a mediated settlement agreement result- ing from a mediation signed by the parties and authenticated by the mediator shall be enforced in accordance with the provisions of the CPC in the same manner as it were a judgment or decree made by a court. 8.4 Setting Aside Settlement Agreements While a consent decree in a suit arising out of a settlement agreement operates as an estoppel by judgment, it can be set aside if the settlement
agreement was obtained by fraud, misrepresen- tation or mistake. Furthermore, for a challenge to a consent decree on the ground that the decree was not lawful (ie, it was void or voidable), a party has to approach the same court, and a separate suit to challenge the consent decree will not be maintainable. A settlement agreement that has become an arbitral award by virtue of Section 30 or 74 of the Arbitration Act can be set aside in terms of Section 34 of the Arbitration Act. Section 28 of the Mediation Act sets out that a mediated settlement agreement can be chal- lenged only on the grounds mentioned therein, which are: • fraud; • corruption; • impersonation; or • where the mediation was conducted regard- ing disputes or matters that are not fit for mediation under Section 6. 9. Damages and Judgment 9.1 Awards Available to the Successful Litigant Parties to a suit can be awarded a decree grant- ing them contractual, equitable or statutory relief, or any other suitable relief under the inher - ent powers of the court. Specific performance of a contract may also be granted if such a relief has been requested in the suit. Specific performance of a contract can also be granted by an arbitral award, and costs and damages can be awarded if requested.
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