Kotak Mahindra Bank v. Amarshi Leera Patel
Case brief
What is this about?
Batch order dismissing Commercial Execution Applications (Ser. Nos. 901-1063, 1065-1150) and setting aside the arbitral awards under execution; unilateral appointment of sole arbitrator found by Prothonotary & Senior Master; Supreme Court decision in Bhadra International (India) Pvt. Ltd. vs. Airports Authority of India, 2026 SCC Online SC 7, applied; fresh arbitration permitted; limitation exclusion from invocation till order date; liberty to apply on proviso to Section 12(5) Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 waiver; counsel: Ms. Bijal Gogri (i/b O. M. Gujar Law Chambers for Sr. Nos. 965, 980, 1098, 1099; i/b GNP Legal for Sr. No. 983); none present in other matters.
What did the court decide?
Applications dismissed and respective arbitral awards set aside; parties free to initiate fresh arbitration in accordance with law, with the period from invocation of arbitration till the date of the order excluded for limitation; liberty to apply where an express agreement in writing under the proviso to Section 12(5) waives the sole arbitrator's ineligibility or the right to object.