Appointment of Arbitral Tribunal via Section 11(6) following party-led nomination of respective arbitrators.

The Petitioner, M/S Technical Consultancy Services, filed a petition under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, seeking the appointment of an arbitrator

The dispute arose from a contract dated 30.12.2024 concerning consultancy services for the preparation of project reports and engineering designs for Proposed Rail Over Bridges (ROBs)

Clause 9.5 of the contract provided a multi-tier dispute resolution mechanism, requiring initial referral to the Employer followed by arbitration by a three-member committee

During the proceedings, both parties reached a consensus (ad idem) to refer the matter to arbitration and nominated their respective arbitrators

1. Whether an Arbitral Tribunal should be constituted under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, to adjudicate disputes arising from the contract dated 30.12.2024

Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, which empowers the High Court to take necessary measures for the appointment of an arbitrator when a party fails to act as required under the agreed appointment procedure

Section 12(2) of the Act regarding the mandatory disclosure requirements of an arbitrator to ensure independence and impartiality

The Court noted that a valid arbitration agreement existed between the parties under Clause 9.5 of the Contract

Since the parties agreed to refer the matter to arbitration and had already nominated their respective arbitrators—Mr. Nand Lal Singh for the Petitioner and Mr. S. Porwal for the Respondent—there was no dispute regarding the invocation of the arbitration clause

The Court determined that the appropriate course of action, in alignment with the parties’ consensus and the contractual framework, was to facilitate the completion of the three-member tribunal by directing the two nominated arbitrators to appoint an umpire/presiding arbitrator

It ordered that the arbitration fees be shared equally between the parties and directed the arbitrators to file disclosures under Section 12(2) within one week of entering the reference. All rights and contentions on the merits of the claims were left open for adjudication by the Tribunal