T. C. Construction Vs Delhi Development Authority — Arbitration | Delhi HC (2025)

T. C. Construction Vs Delhi Development Authority — Arbitration | Delhi HC (2025)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Petition allowed: Ms. Mehak Nakra (Adv) appointed Sole Arbitrator; arbitration to be conducted under the aegis and rules of DIAC, Delhi High Court, with arbitrator remuneration per DIAC (Administrative Cost and Arbitrators’ Fees) Rules, 2018; declaration in terms of Section 12 of the 1996 Act required before entering the reference; all rights, contentions, arbitrability questions, preliminary objections, claims/counterclaims left open to the arbitrator; parties to approach the arbitrator within two weeks; petition disposed of with pending applications.

Issue for consideration

Whether, under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, an arbitrator should be appointed for adjudication of the disputes between T. C. Construction and the Delhi Development Authority arising out of Agreement no. 09/EE/SWD- 9/DDA/A/2017-18, given that the earlier arbitral award had been set aside. +1 more

Court's answer

The Section 11(6) petition is allowed, and Ms. Mehak Nakra (Adv) is appointed as Sole Arbitrator to adjudicate the disputes between the parties.

Ratio / Principle

The court is satisfied that there exists a valid arbitration clause between the parties and that there are disputes between them which need to be adjudicated through the arbitral mechanism.

Key takeaways

The arbitration will be held under the aegis and rules of the Delhi International Arbitration Centre, Delhi High Court, Sher Shah Road, New Delhi ('DIAC').ratio¶¶27
The remuneration of the Arbitrator shall be in terms of DIAC (Administrative Cost and Arbitrators’ Fees) Rules, 2018.ratio¶¶28
The learned Arbitrator is requested to furnish a declaration in terms of Section 12 of the 1996 Act prior to entering into the reference.

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

High Court of Delhi at New Delhi (Jasmeet Singh, J.), ARB.P. 979/2025 & I.A. 16554/2025, I.A. 16555/2025, decided 15.10.2025 — Section 11(6), Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. T. C. Construction petitioned for appointment of an arbitrator against Delhi Development Authority in respect of works awarded vide Award Letter dated 29.06.2017 (improvement/dense carpeting of a 30M R/W road, Sector-11, Dwarka) under Agreement no. 09/EE/SWD- 9/DDA/A/2017-18, whose Clause 25 provided for arbitration. A prior arbitration (arbitrator appointed by the Engineer Member, DDA) produced an Arbitral Award dated 09.08.2019, which was set aside vide judgment/order dated 27.08.2024 of the District Judge (Commercial Court06), New Delhi, Patiala House Court, Delhi, as the arbitrator had been unilaterally appointed by the respondent. Respondent's counsel raised no objection. The court, satisfied that a valid arbitration clause existed and that disputes required adjudication through the arbitral mechanism, allowed the petition and appointed Ms. Mehak Nakra (Adv) as Sole Arbitrator; arbitration under the aegis/rules of DIAC; remuneration per DIAC (Administrative Cost and Arbitrators' Fees) Rules, 2018; declaration under Section 12 of the 1996 Act before entering the reference; arbitrability, preliminary objections, claims/counterclaims and merits expressly left open to the arbitrator; parties to approach the arbitrator within two weeks. Petition disposed of with pending applications.

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

- ARB.P. 979/2025 & I.A. 16554/2025, I.A. 16555/2025

T. C. CONSTRUCTION .....Petitioner

Through: Ms. Stuti Jain & Mr. Akshu Jain, Advs.

versus

DELHI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY .....Respondent

Through: Mr. Sanjay Vashishtha, Mr. Siddhartha Goswami, Ms. Geetanjali Reddy, Advs.

CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE JASMEET SINGH O R D E R % 15.10.2025

This is a petition filed under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 seeking appointment of an Arbitrator for adjudication of disputes between the parties.

The facts are that the respondent awarded the work of M/o various colonies in Dwarka Zone under Nazul A/c-II, SH: Improvement of 30M R/W road from M. P. Road No. 221 to Palam Drain by Dense carpeting in Sector-11, Dwarka, to the petitioner vide Award Letter dated 29.06.2017. Subsequently, an Agreement bearing no. 09/EE/SWD- 9/DDA/A/2017-18 was executed between the parties.

The said Agreement contained an arbitration clause being Clause No. 25, which is extracted below:-

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 25/10/2025 at 11:16:09

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 25/10/2025 at 11:16:09

Since disputes arose between the parties, the petitioner invoked arbitration. The Engineer Member, DDA appointed the Sole Arbitrator, who made and published the Arbitral Award dated 09.08.2019.

The said Award was set aside by District Judge (Commercial Court06), New Delhi, Patiala House Court, Delhi vide judgment/ order dated 27.08.2024, as the Sole Arbitrator was unilaterally appointed by

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 25/10/2025 at 11:16:09

of the respondent.

Hence, the present petition has been filed by the petitioner.

Mr. Vashishtha, learned counsel appears for the respondent and states that he has no objection to the petition being allowed.

I am satisfied that there exists a valid arbitration clause and there are dispute between the parties which need to be adjudicated through the arbitral mechanism.

For the said reasons, the petition is allowed and the following directions are issued:-

i) Ms. Mehak Nakra (Adv) (Mob No. 9871144582) is appointed as a Sole Arbitrator to adjudicate the disputes between the parties.

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’).

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

iv) The learned Arbitrator is requested to furnish a declaration in terms of Section 12 of the 1996 Act prior to entering into the reference.

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/counterclaims and merits of the dispute of either of the parties, are

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 25/10/2025 at 11:16:09

left open for adjudication by the learned Arbitrator.

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

Accordingly, the present petition is disposed of with pending applications.

JASMEET SINGH, J

OCTOBER 15, 2025 / (MS)

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 25/10/2025 at 11:16:09