Supreme Court overruled its 2017 judgment in Himangni Enterprises v. Karnaljeet Singh Ahluwalia (2017) 10 SCC and held that landlord-tenant disputes are arbitrable except when they are covered by specific forum created by rent control laws. Landlord-tenant disputes are arbitrable as the Transfer of Property Act does not forbid or foreclose arbitration. The judgment laid down a four-fold test to determine arbitrability.

(1) When cause of action and subject matter of the dispute relates to actions in rem, that does not pertain to subordinate rights in personam that arise from rights in rem.

(2) When cause of action and subject matter of the dispute affects third party rights; have erg omens effect, require centralized adjudication, and mutual adjudication would not be appropriate and enforceable;

(3) When cause of action and subject matter of the dispute relates to inalienable sovereign and public interest functions of the State and hence mutual adjudication would be unenforceable; and

(4) When the subject-matter of the dispute is expressly or by necessary implication non-arbitrable as per mandatory statute(s).