Supreme Court Deliberates on Forged Arbitration Agreements in Rajia Begum v. Barnali Mukherjee Case. INTRODUCTION In March 2026, the Supreme Court of India drew a line that every arbitration practitioner must understand. In Rajia Begum v. Barnali Mukherjee & Ors. (2026 INSC 106), The Court ruled that when a party alleges the arbitration agreement itself is forged, not merely that a fraud occurred within the underlying contract that no arbitrator can be appointed and no refer

Supreme Court Decision on Forgery and Fraud: Clarifying Court Involvement Before Arbitration Proceedings. INTRODUCTION The Supreme Court of India, in Rajia Begum v. Barnali Mukherjee & Ors. (2026 INSC 106), has delivered a significant and clarificatory judgment on the interplay between allegations of forgery, fraud, and the doctrine of arbitrability under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The Court was confronted with a situation where the same High Court, on ident