Tarikh Pe Tarikh? Why Smart Businesses Are Skipping Court and Choosing Arbitration in India

If Sunny Deol’s iconic “Tarikh pe tarikh” dialogue from Damini still feels relevant in 2026, that’s because it is. India’s courts are buried under 5.4 crore (54 million) pending cases as of December 2025, and for businesses, that backlog can mean the difference between recovering dues this quarter or chasing them for the next decade. This is exactly why arbitration has stopped being a “nice-to-have” clause buried in contracts — it has become a strategic survival tool.

The Numbers Don’t Lie: Why Courts Are Choking

The pendency picture in India is staggering. According to the latest data placed before Parliament in February 2026, here’s where things stand as of 31 December 2025:

• District & Subordinate Courts: 4,76,57,328 cases pending (up 5.84% in three years)
• 25 High Courts: 63,66,023 cases pending (up 4.75% in three years)
• Supreme Court: 92,101 cases pending (up 11.40% in three years)

The Allahabad High Court alone carries over 12 lakh pending cases. Uttar Pradesh’s subordinate courts groan under 1.13 crore matters. India has just 21 judges per 10 lakh people, less than half of the Law Commission’s recommended strength of 50. Land disputes alone contribute around 60% of civil litigation, and over 1.8 lakh cases have been pending for more than 30 years.

For a commercial dispute worth a few crores, waiting through the court queue isn’t justice — it’s a slow death of capital.

Arbitration: The 12-Month Promise Backed by Law

Here’s the game-changer most business owners overlook. Section 29A of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (introduced by the 2015 amendment and refined in 2019) puts a statutory clock on arbitration:

• The arbitral tribunal must deliver the award within 12 months from completion of pleadings
• Pleadings themselves must be wrapped up within 6 months of the arbitrator’s appointment
• Parties can mutually extend by another 6 months — and that’s the outer limit without court approval
• If the tribunal causes the delay, the court can reduce the arbitrator’s fees by up to 5% per month

Compare that with a commercial suit that can spend three years just at the trial stage, then crawl through appeals to the High Court and Supreme Court. Arbitration converts an open-ended legal saga into a defined 18-month commercial process.

Why Arbitration Is Still Faster Than Courts (Despite the Critics)

Yes, even the Supreme Court has its concerns. Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia recently called arbitration a “rich man’s litigation” and flagged that the Supreme Court itself was sitting on over 1,000 arbitration-related petitions. Fair criticism. But on the ground, arbitration still wins on speed for several practical reasons:

1. No Queue, No “Tarikh Pe Tarikh”

In a court, your matter is one of thousands on a judge’s daily board. Hearings get adjourned because the judge is overburdened, not because your case lacks merit. In arbitration, the tribunal is hired exclusively for your dispute. Hearings happen on agreed dates, often consecutively, and matters get heard in full rather than in 5-minute slots.

2. Statutory Deadlines vs. Open Calendars

Civil courts have no equivalent of Section 29A. There is no statute that says a commercial suit must be decided in 18 months. Arbitration has that hard cap built into the law itself.

3. Limited Grounds for Challenge

An arbitral award can only be challenged under Section 34 on narrow grounds — patent illegality, public policy violation, or procedural unfairness. Indian courts in 2025 have repeatedly reinforced this. In Gayatri Balasamy v. ISG Novasoft Technologies Ltd. (2025), a five-judge Constitution Bench held that courts have only a limited power to modify arbitral awards. The Supreme Court has signalled clearly that judicial interference must shrink, not expand.

4. Specialised Expertise

A retired judge of the Bombay High Court hearing a construction dispute, or an ex-arbitration specialist deciding an IP licensing fight, brings domain expertise that a generalist civil judge with 800 other cases simply cannot match.

5. The Institutional Push Is Real

The Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (MCIA) reported a 48% jump in new cases between 2023 and 2024, with disputes worth USD 257 million handled. Institutional arbitration is no longer experimental — it is mainstream for serious commercial players.

Why Businesses Should Choose Arbitration: The Practical Case

Beyond speed, here’s what arbitration buys an Indian business in 2026:

• Confidentiality: Court proceedings are public. Arbitration is private — your trade secrets, customer data, and commercial terms stay out of the public domain.
• Predictable Costs: Yes, arbitrators charge fees, but the predictable 18-month timeline often makes the total spend lower than a 7-year court battle with mounting legal fees.
• Enforceability: Under Section 36, an arbitral award is enforceable as a decree of the court. For cross-border deals, India’s New York Convention obligations make Indian awards enforceable in 170+ countries.
• Preserved Relationships: Arbitration’s less adversarial format helps when you may want to do business with the other party again.
• Choice of Forum and Law: Parties pick the seat, the rules, and even the language. Try doing that in a district court.
• Reduced Judicial Interference: The 2024 draft Arbitration Bill proposes to further restrict courts’ Section 9 powers to grant interim relief during arbitration — a clear signal that the legislative direction is toward less court intervention, not more.

The Honest Caveats Every Business Should Know

Arbitration in India is not perfect. A study cited by industry observers notes that nearly 48% of arbitration cases remain pending for over a year. Ad hoc arbitration (still dominant in India) often inherits the bad habits of court litigation. Section 34 challenges followed by Section 37 appeals can drag the post-award stage out.

The fix is straightforward at the contract drafting stage:

• Choose institutional arbitration (MCIA, ICA, DIAC, SIAC) over ad hoc
• Specify a sole arbitrator for disputes below a threshold value to cut costs and time
• Build in fast-track procedure under Section 29B for claims that can be decided on documents (6-month deadline)
• Pick a clear seat of arbitration (Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru) to lock in supervisory jurisdiction
• Limit grounds and rounds of post-award challenges through carefully drafted clauses

The Bottom Line

With 5.4 crore cases clogging Indian courts and a clear legislative push from the 2015, 2019, and the proposed 2024 amendments, arbitration is not merely an alternative — it is the rational default for any business that values its time and capital.

Choosing court litigation over a well-drafted arbitration clause in 2026 is like choosing the local train over a flight for a Mumbai-to-Delhi business meeting. Both will get you there. Only one respects your calendar.

For businesses negotiating their next contract, the question isn’t whether to include an arbitration clause. It is how carefully to draft it.

Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Businesses should consult a qualified advocate before drafting or invoking arbitration clauses.