The case relates to the Ravva oil field in the Krishna Godavari Basin

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The Delhi High Court has upheld two foreign arbitral awards of around $99 million in favour of Vedanta and Singapore-based Ravva Oil Company in a long standing dispute related to the production sharing contract (PSC) of Ravva oil field in the Krishna Godavari basin.A single judge Bench of Justice Jasmeet Singh on July 1, 2026 allowed the enforcement petition filed by Vedanta and Ravva Oil under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act. The Bench directed the government to release the bank guarantees furnished by the companies within eight weeks.“I find that the objections urged by the respondent (government) to challenge the enforcement of the impugned Awards are meritless and without substance. The respondent’s objections... are dismissed. Resultantly, the declaratory prayer made by the petitioners (Vedanta and Ravva Oil)... is allowed. Consequently, pending applications, if any, are disposed of. The bank guarantees submitted by the petitioner(s) shall be released, not later than 8 weeks from pronouncement of this judgment,” the court order said.The court also said that objections raised by the Government of India have already been decided by the Supreme Court in the Union of India v. Vedanta case (2020). The findings in the judgment are binding and that the court cannot relook or revisit the same.“As regards other objections are concerned, the same concern the merits of the controversy and interpretation of the AT‟s findings, which being plausible views, are beyond the scope of interference of this Court,” the order added.case backgroundThe case relates to the Ravva oil field in the Krishna Godavari Basin. In 1994, Vedanta and Ravva Oil (Singapore) entered into a PSC with Videocon Petroleum, ONGC, and Command Petroleum (India), which was later known as Cairn Energy India.Disputes arose between the parties on interpretation of the terms of the PSC, and arbitration was invoked in 2004 with the venue of the arbitration proceedings being in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.The Arbitration Tribunal passed a Partial Award in 2004. The Government of India challenged the partial award in the Malaysian High Court, which set it aside. However, the partial award was restored by the Malaysian Court of Appeal and was also subsequently affirmed by the Malaysian Federal Court in 2011.In 2014, India issued a show cause notice claiming $64 million and $35 million against the petitioners. The petitioners (Vedanta and Ravva Oil) replied to the notice.In 2019, the petitioners approached the Arbitration Tribunal for an award on the quantification, and the final award was passed in favour of the petitioners.The final award was challenged by India before the courts in Malaysia and has been upheld by all the courts, including the Malaysian Federal Court in 2019.The Centre opposed the enforcement before the Delhi High Court under section 48 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act. The Centre had argued that the awards are in conflict with the public policy of India.Published on July 9, 2026