To Modify or Not: The Conundrum of Gayatri Balasamy | Legal Services Clinic, NLSIU

The Legal Services Clinic, NLSIU is co-hosting a discussion titled “To Modify or Not: The Conundrum of Gayatri Balasamy,” scheduled for Friday, May 23, 2025, from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM, at the Bangalore International Centre, Domlur.

This panel is co-hosted by the Legal Services Clinic, NLSIU in collaboration with Manipal Law School, Bengaluru, under the aegis of the Bangalore Legal Forum—a joint initiative that curates public lectures and panels on pressing legal themes. Previous events in this series focused on Internet and Free Speech, also hosted at the BIC.

About the Panel

The event will consist of the following panelists:

• Senior Advocate Pramod Nair, Advocate, Arista Chambers
• Mr. Vikas Mahendra, Partner (Arbitration), Keystone Partners
• Dr. Jaya Vasudevan, Professor of Law, Manipal Law School (MLS) Bengaluru
• Mr. Anind Thomas, Partner at AZB & Partners

The discussion will be structured in two parts:

Part I: The Propriety of Judicial Modification of Arbitral Awards

This segment will explore the recent Gayatri Balasamy decision, particularly the use of Article 142 in private law disputes. This will be a moderated discussion on whether courts should possess the power to modify arbitral awards.

Part II: Arbitration as a Tool of Access to Justice

This will be a roundtable discussion on India’s policy push to become a pro-arbitration jurisdiction (e.g., entry of foreign law firms in international arbitration, proposed amendments to the Arbitration Act), leveraging arbitration and ADR mechanisms for legal aid and access to justice; the ethical and practical implications of third-party funding in pro bono or low-resource arbitration contexts.