PAYYAVULA VENGAMMA vs PAYYAVULA KESANNA AND OTHERS

The Supreme Court ruled that under Section 21 of the Indian Arbitration Act, an arbitrator's act of taking statements from one party in the absence of the other constitutes legal misconduct, which vitiates the award. The Court emphasized that it is a fundamental principle of justice that no party should influence the arbitrator without the other party's knowledge. The Court held that the award was invalid due to this misconduct, regardless of whether it caused actual prejudice to the parties involved.