Interim relief under Section 9 of the Arbitration Act

What Section 9 allows

Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 allows a party to an arbitration agreement to apply to a court for interim measures to protect its position while a dispute is being resolved through arbitration.

The purpose is to preserve the subject matter of the dispute and ensure that the final award is not rendered meaningless, for example because assets have been sold or evidence destroyed in the meantime.

When you can apply

An application can be made at three stages:

• Before the arbitral proceedings begin;
• During the arbitral proceedings; or
• After the award is made, but before it is enforced under Section 36.

Courts generally apply principles similar to those for civil injunctions: whether there is a prima facie case, where the balance of convenience lies, and whether the applicant would suffer irreparable harm without relief.

Types of interim measures

A court may grant interim measures for purposes including:

• preservation, interim custody or sale of goods that are the subject matter of the arbitration;
• securing the amount in dispute, for example by a deposit or bank guarantee;
• detention, preservation or inspection of property or evidence;
• interim injunctions or the appointment of a receiver; and
• any other interim measure of protection that appears just and convenient to the court.

The 90-day rule

Following the 2015 amendments, if a court grants interim measures before arbitration has started, the arbitral proceedings must be commenced within 90 days of the order, or within such further time as the court may fix. Failing to do so can result in the interim protection lapsing, so the timeline must be diarised carefully.

Section 9 or Section 17?

Once the arbitral tribunal has been constituted, Section 9(3) provides that 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. Section 17 empowers the tribunal itself to grant interim measures, and its orders are enforceable as if they were orders of the court.

In practice, this means a party should usually approach the tribunal once it is in place, and turn to the court only where the tribunal's remedy would not be effective, for example where urgent relief is needed against a third party.

Foreign-seated arbitrations

Section 9 relief can also be available in an international commercial arbitration seated outside India, by virtue of the proviso to Section 2(2), unless the parties have agreed otherwise. This can be valuable where the other party's assets are in India.

Interim relief is often decisive. Acting quickly, with well-organised evidence, can make the difference between a meaningful award and an empty one.

How to apply

A Section 9 application is filed before the competent court. For a domestic arbitration, this is generally the court having jurisdiction over the seat of arbitration; where the dispute is a commercial dispute of the specified value, the application may lie before a Commercial Court or the Commercial Division of a High Court.

An application typically sets out:

• the arbitration agreement and the dispute between the parties;
• whether arbitration has been invoked and, if not, the intention to do so;
• the specific interim measures sought and why they are urgent;
• a prima facie case, balance of convenience and irreparable harm; and
• supporting documents, such as the contract, correspondence and evidence of the risk to assets.

Frequently asked questions

This explainer is general information as of November 2026 and is not legal advice. It does not create an advocate-client relationship. Please seek advice on the specific facts of your matter.