New Delhi, Mar 9 (LAB) Delhi High Court today appointed former chief Justice of India, Justice N V Ramana as sole arbitrator in an ongoing case between Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (DMRCL) and Arvind Techno Globe.
A Single Judge bench of Justice Chandra Dhari Singh on March 6 , after hearing the petitioner Arvind Techno Globe (ATG) which raised the question on the names proposed by DMRC for appointment of Arbitrator, announced that the former Chief Justice will adjudicate the cases between both the parties.
The dispute between the parties arose over some claims to the tune of Rs. 20,64,14,428 raised by ATG and non-payment of the claim by DMRCL.
Before resorting to Arbitration, the Parties tried to conciliate the matter. However, the conciliation proceedings could not be completed within the stipulated period and therefore, the Petitioner terminated the said proceedings.
Arvind Techno Globe filed an application in the Delhi High Court seeking the appointment of an Arbitrator and alleged that the DMRCL violated the law laid down in the case of Voestalpine Schienen GmbH v. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. As they only suggested 5 names of the Arbitrators from the panel.
Further, the Respondents refused to appoint an independent arbitral tribunal as per Section 12(5) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.
The Respondent, on the other hand, argued that none of the names suggested by the Respondent was affiliated with the Respondent organization. Further, the Arbitrators suggested on the panel are either National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited or the Indian Railway Service of Engineers. It was argued that the Petitioner should choose a nominee from the panel provided as the named individuals possess the required eligibility to adjudicate on the dispute.
After hearing the contentions of both the sides, the Delhi High Court said that the dispute was limited to the extent qua the appointment of an independent arbitrator for adjudicating on the disputes arising qua the Contract Agreement of July 2013.
The High Court said that since Respondent has accepted that the dispute is arbitral in nature, It will be better to have a sole arbitrator and endorsed the name of Former Chief Justice of India as the sole arbitrator to settle disputes between both the parties./ Lab /SNG/