Supreme Court Denies Arbitration in NTPC Ltd. vs. SPML Infra Ltd.: Case of Reaping Benefits and Alleging Coercion. When can a court refuse to refer parties to arbitration on the ground that there is no live dispute? The answer, in most cases, is: rarely. The law strongly favours referral. But a recent decision of the Supreme Court of India in NTPC Ltd. v. SPML Infra Ltd., decided on April 10, 2023, demonstrates that there are situations where a referral court must exercise th