INTRODUCTION In the landmark decision of Gayatri Balasamy v. ISG Novasoft Technologies Ltd1., the Supreme Court by a majority (4:1), led by then Chief Justice Sanjeev Khanna, held that the statutory power to "set aside" an award inherently includes a limited power to "modify" it. The reference became necessary in light of the Supreme Court's decision in NHAI v. M. Hakeem2, which had barred courts from modifying arbitral awards under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 ("Act").
