Indiabulls Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd. Vs Vasudevan… — Arbitration | Delhi HC (2026)

Indiabulls Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd. Vs Vasudevan… — Arbitration | Delhi HC (2026)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Appointment of Mr. Amar Nath, District Judge (Retd.), as sole arbitrator for adjudication of the disputes between the parties, with fees governed by Schedule IV of the Act and Section 12 compliance required before entering upon reference.

Issue for consideration

Whether an arbitrator should be appointed under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 to adjudicate the disputes arising between the petitioner and the respondent out of the Loan Agreement dated 30.03.2020.

Court's answer

The petition is allowed and Mr. Amar Nath, District Judge (Retd.), is appointed sole arbitrator to adjudicate the disputes which have arisen between the parties.

Ratio / Principle

The arbitrator's fees shall be governed by Schedule IV of the Act, and the arbitrator shall comply with Section 12 of the Act before entering upon the reference.

Key takeaways

The Court has not expressed any opinion on the merits of the rival claims; the parties remain free to file their respective claims/counter claims before the arbitrator, to be considered in accordance with law.obiter¶body-6

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 – Section 11 – Appointment of arbitrator. Petitioner, an asset reconstruction company, took assignment of a personal loan of Rs. 2,00,00,000/- granted by Dhani Loans and Services Limited (original lender) to the respondent under a Loan Agreement dated 30.03.2020, vide Assignment Agreement dated 29.03.2023. Earlier arbitration initiated by the original lender under the petitioner's authorization was withdrawn with liberty to the petitioner to pursue the claim. On the petitioner's notice dated 23.03.2026 under Section 21 invoking Clause 22(a) of the Loan Agreement going unanswered, the petitioner moved this Section 11 petition. Learned counsel for the respondent, on instructions, raised no objection to referral. Petition allowed: Mr. Amar Nath, District Judge (Retd.), appointed sole arbitrator; fees per Schedule IV of the Act; Section 12 compliance required before entering upon reference; Court expressed no opinion on merits and parties left free to file claims/counter claims.

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

- ARB.P. 662/2026 & I.A. 10239/2026

INDIABULLS ASSET RECONSTRUCTION COMPANY LTD .....Petitioner

Through: Mr. Ankit Banati, Mr. Vikas Maini, Mr. Deepak Mahajan and Mr. Sanchit Sehgal, Advs.

versus

VASUDEVAN SATHYAMOORTHY .....Respondent Through: Ms. Amrita Panda, Advs.

CORAM:

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AVNEESH JHINGAN

O R D E R

% 20.05.2026

The present petition is filed under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (for short „the Act‟) for appointment of an arbitrator. 2. The brief facts are that Dhani Loans and Services Limited (hereinafter referred to as „orignal lender‟) and the respondent entered into a Loan Agreement dated 30.03.2020 for grant of a personal loan of Rs. 2,00,00,000/-. Vide Assignment Agreement dated 29.03.2023, the orignal lender assigned the loan in favour of the petitioner/ Indiabulls Asset Reconstruction Company Limited. Dispute arose between parties to the lis . 2.1 Earlier arbitration proceedings were initiated by the original lender under instructions and authorization of the petitioner. However, during the arbitral proceedings, the original lender withdrew the claim petition with liberty to the petitioner to pursue the claim.

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 25/05/2026 at 11:12:00

2.2 The petitioner issued a notice dated 23.03.2026 under Section 21 of the Act invoking arbitration under Clause 22(a) of the Loan Agreement. On failure to the needful, the present petition was filed.

Learned counsel for the respondents on instructions has no objection for referring the matter to arbitration.

Accordingly, the petition is allowed by appointing Mr. Amar Nath, District Judge (Retd.) (Mobile No.: 9958697030) as the sole arbitrator for adjudication of the disputes which have arisen between the parties.

The fees of the learned Arbitrator will be governed by Schedule IV of the Act. Before entering upon reference, the learned Arbitrator will comply with Section 12 of the Act.

It is made clear that since this Court has not expressed any opinion on the merits of the rival claims of the parties, it will be open for the parties to file their respective claims/counter claims before the learned Arbitrator which will be considered in accordance with law.

A copy of this order be forwarded to the learned Arbitrator for information.

AVNEESH JHINGAN, J

MAY 20, 2026/Pa

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 25/05/2026 at 11:12:00