Bombay High Court Upholds MCX in 2020 Negative Crude Oil Case

The Bombay High Court has ruled in favour of the $MCX hange ( MCX ) in petitions challenging the settlement of crude oil futures at negative prices in April 2020. A division bench dismissed over 20 petitions, observing that sophisticated traders voluntarily assume market risks and cannot seek judicial relief for losses from unprecedented events. The court upheld MCX’s decision to settle contracts at Rs (-)2,884 per barrel, mirroring the historic negative pricing on NYMEX amid COVID-19 storage crisis. The ruling emphasises contractual finality and market certainty in derivatives trading. It reinforces that courts will not intervene to unwind settled trades based solely on losses, even in extreme volatility.