M/S Roop Caterers v. Indian Railway Catering And Tourism Corporation Limited (Irctc) & ANR.

$~5 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + ARB.P. 271/2026 & I.A. 3841/2026 M/S ROOP CATERERS .....Petitioner Through:

Mr. Jasmeet Singh, Mr. Mahinder Singh Hura, Mr. Saif Ali, Mr.

Pushpendra S. Bhadoriya, Mr. Vijay Sharma, Mr. Ajith Williyams, Mr.

Pranav Menon, Mr. Saurav and Mr.

Mehul Pant, Advs versus INDIAN RAILWAY CATERING AND TOURISM CORPORATION LIMITED (IRCTC) & ANR.

.....Respondents Through:

Mr. Rajat Malhotra, Ms. Madhu Kumari and Mr. Tathagat Tiwari, Advs.

CORAM:

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AVNEESH JHINGAN

O R D E R

% 18.05.2026 1.

The present petition is filed under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (for short 'the Act') for appointment of an arbitrator. 2.

The brief facts are that the petitioner a partnership firm is engaged in the business of hospitality and providing catering services in the various units of the Indian Railways and IRCTC. The petitioner and the respondent no.2 executed a Master License Agreement (MLA) on 30.09.2014 and a Tripartite Agreement (TA) dated 01.09.2017 was entered between the petitioner, respondent nos.1 and respondent no.2. Dispute arose due to The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 21/05/2026 at 12:07:01

unilateral enhancement of licence fee by respondent no.1 on pro-rata basis contrary to the contract terms. The Article 20 of the MLA read with Article 8.9 of the TA provides for resolution of disputes by arbitration. The petitioner issued a notice invoking arbitration dated 11.12.2024. The respondents failed to respond or take any steps, hence, the present petition. 3.

Learned counsel for the respondents on instructions has no objection for referring the matter to arbitration.

4.

Accordingly, the petition is allowed by appointing Ms. Arunima Dwivedi, Advocate (Mobile No.: 9810916537) as the sole arbitrator for adjudication of the disputes which have arisen between the parties. 5.

The fees of the learned Arbitrator will be governed by Schedule IV of the Act. Before entering upon reference, the learned Arbitrator will comply with Section 12 of the Act.

6.

It is made clear that since this Court has not expressed any opinion on the merits of the rival claims of the parties, it will be open for the parties to file all their respective issues/claims/counter claims including of limitation and excepted matters before the learned Arbitrator which will be considered in accordance with law.

7.

A copy of this order be forwarded to the learned Arbitrator for information.

AVNEESH JHINGAN, J MAY 18, 2026 'ha'

The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 21/05/2026 at 12:07:01