Section 11 scrutiny is confined to the prima facie existence of an arbitration agreement.

Moneywise Financial Services Pvt. Ltd. filed a petition under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, seeking appointment of a sole arbitrator.

The parties had been referred to mediation, but the petitioner and Respondent No. 4 stated that it had not succeeded because Respondent Nos. 2 and 3 had not participated.

Respondents Nos. 2 to 4 had no objection to appointing an arbitrator but sought another opportunity to explore settlement.

The parties agreed that, if mediation failed, the disputes could be referred to arbitration and did not dispute the existence of a valid arbitration agreement.

1. Whether the Court should appoint a sole arbitrator under Section 11 of the Act where the parties did not dispute the existence of a valid arbitration agreement.

2. Whether the parties should be afforded a further opportunity to pursue mediation before the arbitration proceeds.

Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 empowers the Court to appoint an arbitrator, with its inquiry confined to examining the prima facie existence of an arbitration agreement.

The Court relied on SBI General Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Krish Spinning, 2024 SCC OnLine SC 1754, for that limited scope of inquiry.

The appointed arbitrator must furnish the disclosures required by Section 12(2) of the Act.

The parties agreed that a valid arbitration agreement existed and that the disputes could be referred to arbitration if mediation failed; accordingly, the Court found no impediment to appointing a sole arbitrator under the limited Section 11 inquiry.

At the respondents’ request, the Court also granted a further opportunity for settlement by referring the parties to the Delhi High Court Mediation and Conciliation Centre (Samadhan) for three weeks.

The arbitrator was directed to enter upon the reference after the mediation report recorded failure of settlement.

The arbitration is to proceed under the aegis of the Delhi International Arbitration Centre; the parties may raise all pleas, including arbitrability and jurisdiction, before the arbitrator.

The arbitrator must furnish the requisite Section 12(2) disclosures, and the Court’s observations are not to influence the merits of the arbitration.