A sole arbitrator may be appointed upon valid invocation of an arbitration clause.

The State invited tenders for widening a section of NH-63, awarded the work to PBI Construction Company, and entered into an agreement with it on 2 June 2017. Disputes subsequently arose under the contract.

PBI invoked the arbitration clause by issuing a notice under Section 21 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, on 26 December 2024. The State did not respond to the notice. PBI then petitioned under Section 11(5) seeking appointment of an arbitral tribunal. The State, through counsel, stated that it had no objection to appointment of a sole arbitrator, while reserving the parties’ contentions

1. Whether the existence of the contractual arbitration clause and PBI’s invocation of it justified appointment of an arbitrator to adjudicate the parties’ disputes

2. Whether a sole arbitrator should be appointed, notwithstanding the clause’s provision for a three-member tribunal

Section 11(5) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, was invoked for appointment of an arbitrator, and Section 21 was the basis for PBI’s notice invoking arbitration.

The Court relied on the parties’ agreement, including Clause 25.3 of the General Conditions of Contract, which provides for arbitration of disputes arising out of or connected with the agreement and sets out an appointment procedure.

The Court stated no separate precedent or broader legal doctrine.

The Court found that the agreement contained an arbitration clause and that PBI had invoked it by serving a Section 21 notice. The State had not responded to the notice and, before the Court, did not object to appointment of a sole arbitrator, while asking that the parties’ contentions remain open. On that basis, the Court considered appointment necessary to resolve the disputes.

Although the contractual clause described a three-arbitrator tribunal, the Court appointed a sole arbitrator; it did not separately explain that departure from the clause’s stated composition.

All claims and contentions were left open, and the parties were directed to appear before the Centre’s Director on 5 November 2026 at 11:30 a.m.