The most urgent moments in an arbitral dispute usually arrive before any tribunal exists: a counterparty stripping assets, a bank guarantee about to be encashed, stock being dissipated, records at risk. Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 answers that gap by keeping the court's protective jurisdiction available at three stages — before the arbitral proceedings commence, during them, and after the award but before enforcement. Used with discipline, it is the instrument that keeps the eventual award worth having.
The three windows of Section 9
Before arbitration
The emergency window: protection when the notice of arbitration is fresh or not yet served. Discipline: commence arbitration within ninety days of the order (Section 9(2)).
During arbitration
The exceptional window: after the tribunal exists, Section 9(3) relegates parties to Section 17 unless the tribunal's remedy would be inefficacious.
After the award
The enforcement-protection window: measures securing the fruits of the award before it is enforced — securing amounts, restraining dissipation.
The standards applied are the familiar interim-relief trinity — prima facie case, balance of convenience, irreparable harm — applied with commercial court rigour: courts protect the subject matter and the award's efficacy, and resist converting Section 9 into pre-trial attachment on demand. An applicant seeking to secure the amount in dispute, in particular, is expected to show the counterparty's conduct threatens the award's satisfaction — asset-stripping, diversion, imminent insolvency signals — not merely that money is claimed.
Section 9 versus Section 17
| Feature | Section 9 (court) | Section 17 (tribunal) |
|---|---|---|
| Availability | Before, during and after proceedings (pre-enforcement) | Only during the arbitral proceedings |
| Reach over third parties | Yes — banks, registrars, receivers, strangers to the agreement | No — binds only parties to the arbitration |
| Enforcement | Enforceable as a court order directly | Deemed enforceable as an order of the court under Section 17(2) |
| Appeal | Section 37(1)(b) — appeal against granting or refusing | Section 37(2)(b) — appeal against granting or refusing |
| Priority after tribunal constituted | Restricted by Section 9(3) | The default forum |
What gets protected in practice
Money
Orders securing the amount in dispute — deposits, bank guarantees, disclosure of assets — where dissipation is shown.
Property and goods
Preservation, custody, inspection and (for perishables) interim sale — the supply-chain and infrastructure staples.
Status quo
Injunctions against termination consequences, invocation of securities, transfer of shares or encumbrance of the subject matter.
Evidence
Inspection, samples, and preservation of records and things connected to the dispute's proof.
Drafting and strategy notes
Three recurring lessons from Delhi practice. Plead the arbitration seriously: the application should establish the arbitration agreement, the dispute, and the applicant's manifest intention to arbitrate — Section 9 is ancillary to arbitration, not a substitute for it, and courts examine whether the applicant is genuinely proceeding to the tribunal. Choose the first court carefully: Section 42 fastens jurisdiction for all later applications (Section 34 included) to the court first properly moved, so the Section 9 filing is also a venue decision for the life of the dispute. Design for Section 9(3): once the tribunal is in place, fresh court applications must explain why Section 17 will not do — orders needed against third parties such as banks or registrars remain the cleanest answer.
Practice note: An order under Section 9 is appealable under Section 37(1)(b), and interim orders obtained on incomplete disclosure invite the same candour scrutiny as any ex parte relief. The application should therefore disclose the contract's termination and dispute history fully, annex the invocation notice where issued, and propose measured relief — courts respond to protection sought for the award's sake, and react against Section 9 used as commercial pressure detached from the arbitral process.
Frequently Asked Questions
What reliefs can a court grant under Section 9?
The menu in Section 9(1)(ii) includes preservation, interim custody or sale of goods; securing the amount in dispute; detention, preservation or inspection of property or things; interim injunctions; appointment of receivers; and such other interim measures as appear just and convenient — with the court having the same power as it has in relation to proceedings before it. Guardianship measures for arbitration-connected minors appear in clause (i).
Is there a time limit tied to a pre-arbitration Section 9 order?
Yes. Section 9(2) provides that where an interim measure is granted before commencement of arbitral proceedings, the arbitral proceedings must be commenced within ninety days of the order or such further time as the court determines. A party that obtains protection and sits on it risks vacation of the order.
Can a Section 9 application be filed after the tribunal is constituted?
Section 9(3) provides that once the arbitral tribunal is constituted, the court shall not entertain a Section 9 application unless it finds circumstances which may render the Section 17 remedy before the tribunal inefficacious. The tribunal becomes the default forum for interim relief; the court remains available for what the tribunal cannot do — most obviously, orders affecting third parties and emergencies the tribunal cannot convene for.
Which court hears Section 9 applications in Delhi?
The "Court" for arbitration purposes is defined in Section 2(1)(e): for domestic arbitrations of commercial value in Delhi, applications are made to the Commercial Division of the High Court of Delhi or the commercial courts, according to specified value and jurisdiction; for international commercial arbitration, the High Court. Section 42 then anchors all subsequent arbitration applications to the court first approached.