M/S Shiv and Sons Vs Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation — Arbitration | Delhi HC (2025)

M/S Shiv and Sons Vs Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation — Arbitration | Delhi HC (2025)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Petition under Section 11(6) A&C Act disposed of: disputes referred to an Arbitral Tribunal; Mr. Justice Talwant Singh, former Judge, Delhi High Court, appointed Sole Arbitrator; arbitration to be held under the aegis of DIAC with remuneration per DIAC (Administrative Cost and Arbitrators’ Fees) Rules, 2018 or as agreed; Section 12 declaration required before entering the reference; all rights and contentions left open; parties to approach the Arbitrator within two weeks.

Issue for consideration

Whether, on the petitioner's application under Section 11(6) of the A&C Act, an Arbitral Tribunal comprising a Sole Arbitrator should be constituted to adjudicate the disputes between M/s Shiv and Sons and IRCTC arising under their agreement containing Clause 5 of the General Condition of Contract.

Court's answer

Both parties having consented to reference to an arbitral tribunal comprising a Sole Arbitrator, the present petition is disposed of with directions.

Ratio / Principle

The disputes between the parties under the said agreement are referred to the Arbitral Tribunal.

Key takeaways

Mr. Justice Talwant Singh, former Judge at Delhi High Court, is appointed as the Sole Arbitrator to adjudicate the disputes between the parties.ratio¶5(ii)
The arbitration will be held under the aegis of the Delhi International Arbitration Centre (DIAC), Delhi High Court, Sher Shah Road, New Delhi; the Arbitrator's remuneration shall be in terms of the DIAC (Administrative Cost and Arbitrators’ Fees) Rules, 2018 or as the parties may agree.ratio¶5(iii)
The learned Arbitrator shall furnish a declaration in terms of Section 12 of the Act prior to entering upon the reference.

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

ARB.P. 834/2024, High Court of Delhi (Manoj Kumar Ohri, J., order dated 10.03.2025) — Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, S. 11(6): M/s Shiv and Sons sought constitution of a sole-arbitrator Arbitral Tribunal vis-a-vis Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, relying on Clause 5 of the General Condition of Contract (arbitration, place New Delhi); arbitration stood invoked by notice dated 13.09.2023 under Section 21. The respondent raised no objection to reference to a sole-arbitrator tribunal. Accordingly, the Court disposed of the petition: disputes were referred to the Arbitral Tribunal; Mr. Justice Talwant Singh, former Judge, Delhi High Court, was appointed Sole Arbitrator; arbitration is to be held under the aegis of DIAC with remuneration per DIAC (Administrative Cost and Arbitrators’ Fees) Rules, 2018 or as agreed; the Arbitrator must furnish a Section 12 declaration before entering the reference; all rights and contentions (including existence and validity of the arbitration agreement, arbitrability, preliminary objections, interim relief and merits) are expressly left open for adjudication by the arbitrator; and the parties are to approach the Arbitrator within two weeks. Pending applications disposed of.

$~6

IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

- ARB.P. 834/2024, I.A. 31350/2024, I.A. 31351/2024

M/S SHIV AND SONS .....Petitioner

Through: Mr. Akshat Bajpai, Mr. Shobhit Trehan and Ms. Renuka Parmanand, Advocates.

versus INDIAN RAILWAY CATERING AND TOURISM CORPORATION .....Respondent Through: Mr. Uttam Singh, Advocate.

CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MANOJ KUMAR OHRI O R D E R % 10.03.2025

By way of present petition filed under Section 11 (6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (hereinafter, referred to as the ‘A&C Act’), the petitioner seeks constitution of an Arbitral Tribunal comprising of a Sole Arbitrator, to adjudicate the disputes between the parties.

Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the Clause 5 of the General Condition of Contract provides that disputes arising between the parties shall be resolved through arbitration. The Clause further stipulates that the place of arbitration shall be at New Delhi.

Disputes having arisen between the parties, the petitioner invoked arbitration vide notice dated 13.09.2023 issued to the respondent under Section 21 of the A&C Act.

Learned counsel appearing for the respondent, on instructions, submits that the answering respondent has no objection to the matter being referred to the Arbitral Tribunal comprising of a Sole Arbitrator.

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 12/03/2025 at 11:45:01

Considering that both the parties have consented to the reference to the arbitral tribunal comprising of a Sole Arbitrator, the present petition is disposed of with the following directions:-

i) The disputes between the parties under the said agreement are referred to the Arbitral Tribunal.

ii) Mr. Justice Talwant Singh, former Judge at Delhi High Court (Mob: 9910384653) is appointed as the Sole Arbitrator to adjudicate the disputes between the parties.

iii) The arbitration will be held under the aegis of the Delhi International Arbitration Centre, Delhi High Court, Sher Shah Road, New Delhi (hereinafter, referred to as the ‘DIAC’). The remuneration of the learned Arbitrator shall be in terms of DIAC (Administrative Cost and Arbitrators’ Fees) Rules, 2018 or as the parties may agree.

iv) The learned Arbitrator shall furnish a declaration in terms of Section 12 of the Act prior to entering into the reference. v) It is made clear that all the rights and contentions of the parties, including on the existence and validity of the Arbitration agreement, arbitrability of any of the claim/counter claim, any other preliminary objection, need and legality of interim relief, as well as contentions on merits of the dispute by either of the parties, are left open for adjudication by the learned arbitrator.

vi) The parties shall approach the learned Arbitrators within two weeks from today.

The pending applications are also disposed of.

MANOJ KUMAR OHRI, J

MARCH 10, 2025/ ga

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 12/03/2025 at 11:45:01