102. Furthermore, the legislative intent underlying Section 11 of the Act, 1996 — particularly sub-section (6A) — is to ensure the expeditious disposal of applications for the appointment of arbitrators. This legislative objective militates against referral courts undertaking any elaborate or detailed factual inquiry, which would inevitably delay proceedings. Prudence thus dictates that the referral courts confine themselves to a prima-facie examination of the existence of the arbitration agreement and leave substantive determinations, such as the binding nature of nonsignatories, to the arbitral tribunal. An additional and equally compelling consideration is that the power exercised by the referral courts under Section 11 of the Act, 1996 is judicial in nature. Consequently, referral courts must refrain from embarking upon an intricate evidentiary inquiry or making final determinations on matters that are within the jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal. Any premature adjudication or opinion by the referral court would not only usurp the tribunal's role as the forum of first instance for dispute resolution but could also cause irremediable prejudice. In particular, if the referral court were to refuse impleadment of a non-signatory, there would be no statutory right of appeal available to challenge such a refusal. In contrast, determinations made by the arbitral tribunal — including on issues of jurisdiction and impleadment — are amenable to challenge under Section 16 of the Act, 1996 and, thereafter, under Section 37. Accordingly, the better course of action is for referral courts to refrain altogether from delving, into the issue of whether a nonsignatory is a veritable party to the arbitration agreement, and to leave such matters for the arbitral tribunal to decide in the first instance.”
