Hdb Financial Services Ltd. v. Vicky Alfons Monteiro
Case brief
What is this about?
Unilateral appointment of sole arbitrator held void ab initio; ineligibility raisable at any stage and even in execution; Commercial Execution Applications dismissed and respective arbitral awards set aside; connected Interim Applications and Chamber Summons disposed; parties permitted to initiate fresh arbitration with limitation exclusion from invocation of arbitration till order date; liberty to apply on express written waiver under proviso to Section 12(5), Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996; reliance on Bhadra International (India) Pvt. Ltd. v. Airports Authority of India, 2026 SCC Online SC 7; Bombay High Court, Abhay Ahuja, J., 6 April 2026; batch Serial Nos. 13-266 and 277-294.
What did the court decide?
Parties left open to initiate fresh arbitration proceedings in accordance with law; the period from invocation of the arbitration till the date of the order excluded for limitation; liberty to apply where an express written agreement in terms of 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).