Hdfc Bank Limited v. Pura Ramkehararam Choudhary
Case brief
What is this about?
Unilateral appointment of sole arbitrator; void ab initio; ineligibility raisable at any stage and even in execution; Bhadra International (India) Pvt. Ltd. vs. Airports Authority of India, 2026 SCC Online SC 7; Section 12(5) Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996; proviso to Section 12(5) waiver; Commercial Execution Applications dismissed; arbitral awards set aside; interim applications and chamber summons disposed; fresh arbitration permitted; limitation exclusion from invocation till order date; Bombay High Court OOCJ; Abhay Ahuja J.; 2026.
What did the court decide?
All the applications stand dismissed; the respective arbitral awards stand set aside and the Commercial Execution Applications, connected Interim Applications and Chamber Summons, if any, stand disposed; parties permitted to initiate fresh arbitration with the period from invocation of arbitration till the date of the order excluded for limitation; liberty to apply where an express written agreement under the proviso to Section 12(5) waives the ineligibility or the right to object.