Disposed¶41

Ms Gail India Limited v. Ms Nrp Projects Private Limited

Delhi HC23 Apr 2025ARB.P./1671/2024

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Section 11 Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 petition allowed by Delhi High Court; sole arbitrator (Justice Rajiv Shakdher, Retd.) appointed for GAIL India Ltd. v. NRP Projects Pvt. Ltd.; disputes under agreement dated 14.02.2019 and contract dated 25.04.2021 referred; arbitration under DIAC; DIAC fee Rules 2018 apply; Section 12 declaration required; all rights and objections left open; decided 23.04.2025 by Jasmeet Singh, J.

What did the court decide?

Petition under Section 11 allowed: Justice Rajiv Shakdher (Retd.) appointed Sole Arbitrator for disputes under both contracts (agreement dated 14.02.2019 and contract dated 25.04.2021), with arbitration under DIAC aegis and parties directed to approach the arbitrator within two weeks; petition disposed of in those terms. ¶41

Ms Gail India Limited Vs Ms Nrp Projects Private Limited — Arbitration | Delhi HC (2025)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

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Issue for consideration

Whether an arbitrator should be appointed under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 to adjudicate the disputes between the parties arising out of the agreement dated 14.02.2019 (and, as sought by the respondent without objection from the petitioner, the subsequent contract dated 25.04.2021).

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Court's answer

The petition is allowed: Justice Rajiv Shakdher (Retd.), former Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh, is appointed as Sole Arbitrator to adjudicate the disputes between the parties.

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Ratio / Principle

The arbitration will be held under the aegis and rules of the Delhi International Arbitration Centre (DIAC), Delhi High Court, Sher Shah Road, New Delhi.

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Key takeaways

The remuneration of the arbitrator shall be in terms of the DIAC (Administrative Cost and Arbitrators’ Fees) Rules, 2018.ratio¶37
The arbitrator is to furnish a declaration under Section 12 of the Act prior to entering upon the reference.ratio¶38
All rights and contentions of the parties, including arbitrability of any claim, preliminary objections, claims/counter-claims and merits, are left open for adjudication by the learned arbitrator.ratio

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Delhi High Court (Jasmeet Singh, J.) allowed a petition under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 filed by MS GAIL India Limited seeking appointment of an arbitrator for disputes with MS NRP Projects Private Limited arising out of the agreement dated 14.02.2019 (pursuant to FOA dated 04.01.2019, estimated value Rs. 19,68,24,000/- excluding GST, containing arbitration Clause 59 of SCC), arbitration having been invoked by legal notice dated 04.05.2024. On the respondent's unopposed request, disputes under the subsequent contract dated 25.04.2021 were also referable. Justice Rajiv Shakdher (Retd.) was appointed Sole Arbitrator; the arbitration is to be conducted under the aegis and rules of DIAC, with fees per the DIAC (Administrative Cost and Arbitrators' Fees) Rules, 2018; the arbitrator is to furnish a Section 12 declaration before entering the reference; all rights and contentions, including arbitrability and preliminary objections, were left open; parties to approach the arbitrator within two weeks. Petition disposed of (order dated 23.04.2025).

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

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- ARB.P. 1671/2024

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MS GAIL INDIA LIMITED .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Namit Saxena, Mr. Shivam Raghuwanshi, Advs.

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versus

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MS NRP PROJECTS PRIVATE LIMITED .....Respondent Through: Mr. K. Manoj Menon, Mr. Manu Seshadri, Mr. Siddharth Shekhar, Mr. Sahil Manganani, Mr. Ramesh, Advs.

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CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE JASMEET SINGH

O R D E R

23.04.2025

This is a petition filed under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 seeking appointment of an Arbitrator to adjudicate the disputes between the parties.

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The petitioner had awarded the respondent a contract for laying of 24" NB dia x 1400 Meters API 5L X-80 / X-70 pipeline along with 6" NB dia [Wall Thickness (WT) 6.4 mm] CS conduit pipe for HDPE/OFC across Chandragiri River crossing and surrounding valley type area at both side of the river, through HDD method vide FOA dated 04.01.2019 with reference no. GAIL/NOIDA/C&P/PROJ/HDD/KKBMPL-II/HDD/18-005/109 with an estimated contract value of Rs. 19,68,24,000/- excluding GST.

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The parties entered into an agreement dated 14.02.2019.

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The agreement contained arbitration clause being Clause 59 of SCC which reads as under:

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This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 28/04/2025 at 15:54:05

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“ 59.0 ARBITRATION

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59.1 Clause No.107.0 of GCC pertaining to Arbitration shall be replaced by the following:-

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59.1.1 All disputes, controversies, or claims between the parties (except in matters where the decision of the Engineer-in-Charge is deemed to be final and binding) which cannot be mutually resolved within a reasonable time shall be referred to Arbitration by sole arbitrator.

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59.1.2 The Employer/Consultant (GAIL) shall suggest a panel of three independent and distinguished persons to the other party (Bidder/Contractor/ Supplier/Buyer as the case may be) to select any one among them to act as the sole Arbitrator.

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59.1.3 In the event of failure of the other party to select the sole Arbitrator within 30 days from the receipt of the communication suggesting the panel of arbitrators, the right of selection of sole Arbitrator by the other party shall stand forfeited and the Employer/Consultant shall have discretion to proceed with the appointment of the sole Arbitrator. The decision of the Employer/Consultant on the appointment of Sole Arbitrator shall be final and binding on the parties.

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59.1.4 The award of the Sole Arbitrator shall be final and binding on the parties and unless directed/awarded otherwise by the Sole Arbitrator, the cost of arbitration proceedings shall be shared equally by the Parties. The arbitration proceeding shall be in English language and the venue shall be at New Delhi, India.

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59.1.5 Subject to the above, the provisions of (Indian) Arbitration &

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This is a digitally signed order.

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The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 28/04/2025 at 15:54:05

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Conciliation Act, 1996 and the rules framed there under shall be applicable.

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59.1.6 All matters relating to this contract are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts situated in the State of Delhi (India).

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59.1.7 Bidders/ Supplier/ Contractors may please note that the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 was enacted by the Indian Parliament and is based on United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL, model law), which were prepared after extensive consultation with Arbitral Institutions and centres of International Commercial Arbitration. The United Nations General Assembly vide resolution 31/98 adopted the UNCITRAL Arbitration rules on 15 December 1976 .”

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The petitioner thereafter invoked arbitration vide legal notice dated 04.05.2024.

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Thereafter, the present petition has been filed.

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Respondent has filed a reply, wherein the respondent states that pursuant to the agreement dated 14.02.2019, there was another contract dated 25.04.2021 entered into between the parties.

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Learned counsel for the respondent states that there are disputes in the said contract also and hence it would be in the interest of justice that the disputes arising out of both the contracts are referred to an Arbitrator.

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Mr. Saxena, learned counsel for the petitioner has no objection to the same.

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For the said reasons, the petition is allowed with the following conditions:

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i) Justice Rajiv Shakdher (Retd. Chief Justice of High Court of Himachal Pradesh) (Mob. No. 9717495004) is appointed as a Sole Arbitrator to adjudicate the disputes between the parties.

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ii) The arbitration will be held under the aegis and rules of the Delhi International Arbitration Centre, Delhi High Court, Sher Shah Road, New Delhi (hereinafter, referred to as the ‘DIAC’).

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iii) The remuneration of the learned Arbitrator shall be in terms of DIAC (Administrative Cost and Arbitrators’ Fees) Rules, 2018.

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iv) The learned Arbitrator is requested to furnish a declaration in terms of Section 12 of the Act prior to entering into the reference.

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v) It is made clear that all the rights and contentions of the parties, including as to the arbitrability of any of the claim, any other preliminary objection, as well as claims/counter-claims and merits of the dispute of either of the parties, are left open for adjudication by the learned arbitrator.

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