Facts of the Case

Steelman Telecom Limited filed this petition under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 seeking appointment of a sole arbitrator to adjudicate disputes with Power Grid Corporation of India Limited arising from a tender for the AMC of an Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) network and Last Mile Connectivity in various cities of Odisha (Tender No. ERTCC/C&M/17-18/I-75/T-139/AMC_LMC/Pkg-C), awarded via a purchase order dated 12.10.2018 and a subsequent stamped contract agreement dated 05.11.2018, which contained a detailed arbitration clause (Clause 14) providing for a sole or three-member arbitral tribunal depending on the claim amount.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the pre-conditions for appointment of an arbitrator under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 were satisfied, given the existence of an arbitration agreement between the parties.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • Disputes had arisen concerning the AMC contract, and despite invoking the arbitration clause, the parties had not been able to jointly appoint an arbitrator, necessitating court intervention under Section 11.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The specific contentions of the respondent are not detailed in the available extract of the order; the arbitration clause and mechanism for appointment are examined in detail as background to the appointment.

Court Order / Findings

  • The Court examined the arbitration clause in the contract in detail and proceeded to consider whether the pre-conditions for exercising its power under Section 11 were satisfied — the outcome (appointment of a specific arbitrator) is expected to follow from this analysis, though the concluding operative paragraph is not captured within the extracted portion of this record.

Important Clarification

This is a purely commercial arbitration matter concerning appointment of an arbitrator for a telecom/power-grid AMC contract dispute — it has no connection to GST law and does not decide any tax question. It is included in this compilation only because an earlier screening flagged the case file; readers researching GST case law should disregard this entry.

Sections Involved

  • Section 11, Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — appointment of arbitrators by the Court.
  • Section 11(6-A), Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — Court's examination confined to existence of the arbitration agreement.

Decision – In Favour of

A commercial arbitrator-appointment matter — no GST issue arose or was decided; readers should refer to the certified order for the specific arbitrator appointed.

Case Details

  • Court: High Court of Delhi at New Delhi
  • Case No.: ARB.P. 1064 of 2022
  • Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Justice Sachin Datta
  • Date of Judgment: 14 August 2023

Link to Download the Order

Click here to view/download the full order

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