Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. v. Mithun Sharma
Case brief
What is this about?
Unilateral appointment of sole arbitrator void ab initio (per cited SC precedent); Bhadra International (India) Pvt. Ltd. and Others vs. Airports Authority of India, 2026 SCC Online SC 7; arbitral awards set aside; Commercial Execution Applications / Execution Applications dismissed / disposed; connected interim applications and chamber summons; fresh arbitration permitted; limitation exclusion from invocation of arbitration to date of order; proviso to Section 12(5), Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996; express agreement in writing waiving ineligibility; Prothonotary & Senior Master finding; Bombay High Court OOCJ; Abhay Ahuja J.; batch Ser. Nos. 903–1091.
What did the court decide?
Arbitral awards set aside and the execution applications, connected interim applications and chamber summons dismissed/disposed; parties left free to initiate fresh arbitration proceedings, with the period from invocation of arbitration until the date of this order excluded for limitation, and liberty to apply where an express agreement in writing under the proviso to Section 12(5) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 waives the ineligibility of the sole arbitrator or the right to object under Section 12(5).