Au Small Finance Bank Ltd. v. Rakesh Ramfer Verma and Anr.
Execution of arbitral award – unilateral appointment of sole arbitrator
Case brief
What is this about?
Bombay High Court, OOCJ (Rajesh S. Patil, J., 03.02.2026) - Notice No. 625 of 2025 in Execution Application No. 1186 of 2022, AU Small Finance Bank Ltd. v. Rakesh Ramfer Verma & anr. None appeared for the applicant. Holding: an arbitral award passed by a unilaterally appointed sole arbitrator can be set aside as void-ab-initio even at the execution stage; the award dated 06.09.2017 was declared non-est, non-executable and void-ab-initio; execution application and notice dismissed; fresh arbitration permitted with limitation exclusion from invocation till the order. Relies on Bhadra International (India) Pvt. Ltd. v. Airport Authority of India (SC, Civil Appeal No. 37-38 of 2026, decided 05.01.2026) and L & T Finance Ltd. v. Sangeeta Bhansali (Bom HC, Commercial Execution Application (L) No. 5277 of 2022). Key terms: unilateral appointment of arbitrator, void-ab-initio, non-est, non-executable, execution of arbitral award, limitation exclusion, fresh arbitration.