Petitioner is agreeable to the disputes being referred to arbitration in terms of the arbitration clause. He prays that that all objections and contentions urged in the present petition be permitted to be raised before the arbitral tribunal. In order to expedite the arbitration process, Mr. Nayar requests this Court to appoint the Arbitral Tribunal. Furthermore, Mr. Nayar submits that since the Petitioner shall be seeking reliefs under the Arbitration mechanism, they shall also be pursuing interim measures under Section 17 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 19966 . In such circumstances he prays that interim protection granted on 22nd February, 2024 be extended till such time, the interim application is taken up for consideration by the arbitral tribunal. 6. Mr. Rajat Navet, counsel for the Respondent, is also agreeable for the parties to be referred to arbitration and consents to this Court making an appointment. He, however, submits that all jurisdictional objections should be left open for consideration by the Arbitral Tribunal. 7. The Court has considered the afore-noted submissions. The arbitration clause, as worded, provides for a panel of three arbitrators. However, both counsels, on instructions, agree that given the respective claim amounts and the desire to keep arbitration costs reasonable, they are amenable to referring the arbitration to a Sole Arbitrator appointed by this Court. Although the present proceedings are initiated under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, however, since there is a consensus between the parties to be referred to arbitration and they jointly request this Court to appoint a Sole Arbitrator, the prayer is accepted.
