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2023 (1) TMI 1352 - HC - Indian LawsAppointment of Arbitrators - Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 - HELD THAT:- In the present case, this Court need not devolve into this aspect any further since the petitioner itself has made an alternate prayer that though one petition under Section 11 of the Act has been filed, the Arbitrator may be appointed separately for the four Agreements. In the present case as well, though there is one Notice of Invocation given, but it clearly states about the four Agreements and about the disputes between the parties. The Notice of Invocation dated 18th July, 2018 may not have been artistically drafted but so long as it fulfills the objective, this technical ground cannot be considered as a ground for disallowing the present petition. The respondents have made a reference to VIDYA DROLIA AND OTHERS VERSUS DURGA TRADING CORPORATION [2020 (12) TMI 1227 - SUPREME COURT] to state that there are no arbitrable disputes under the Dealership Agreement as the petitioner has failed to follow the procedure as envisaged in Clause 13.4 of the Agreement which stipulates the parties to undergo a consultation before invoking arbitration. This argument also does not hold water for the simple reason that there is no specific procedure for consultation and so long as the parties were corresponding with each other about their disputes and a Notice was given for invoking arbitration, the pre-requisite of consultation is essentially met. It may be observed that it is not a case where there are no arbitrable disputes. The parties may have approached NCLT or other Forums but the scope of adjudication before each of these Fora is independent and merely because the petitioner had approached Competition Commission of India or is a corporate debtor in the proceedings before the NCLT, cannot be held to be a bar to raise the disputes for adjudication by way of arbitration. Considering that there is a valid Arbitration Agreement between the parties and in the light of the facts and discussions, Hon'ble Mr. Justice Manmohan Sarin, Retired Chief Justice (Jammu & Kashmir High Court), Mobile No. 9818000210, is hereby appointed as the Sole Arbitrator to adjudicate the disputes between the parties. Petition disposed off.
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