Aditya Birla Finance Ltd. v. Nilkanth Trading Co.
Case brief
What is this about?
Unilateral appointment of sole arbitrator void ab initio; Commercial Execution Applications dismissed; arbitral awards set aside; Bhadra International (India) Pvt. Ltd. v. Airports Authority of India, 2026 SCC Online SC 7, applied; ineligibility raisable at any stage even in execution; Section 12(5) proviso waiver, Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996; fresh arbitration permitted; limitation exclusion from invocation till today; Prothonotary & Senior Master finding; Bombay High Court OOCJ; Abhay Ahuja, J.; interim applications; chamber sumsmons dismissed/disposed.
What did the court decide?
All listed Commercial Execution Applications dismissed and the respective arbitral awards set aside; connected Interim Applications and Chamber Summons dismissed / disposed; parties free to initiate fresh arbitration in accordance with law, with the period from invocation of arbitration till today excluded for limitation; liberty to apply where an express written agreement waives the sole arbitrator's ineligibility or the right to object under Section 12(5)