M/S Shivam Enterprises v. Union Of India Through Cpwd
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
+ ARB.P. 1458/2025 M/S SHIVAM ENTERPRISES .....Petitioner Through:
Mr Nikhil Saini, Adv versus UNION OF INDIA THROUGH CPWD .....Respondent Through:
Mr. Chetanya Puri, SPC
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE JASMEET SINGH
O R D E R
% 07.11.2025 1.
This is a petition filed under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 seeking appointment of an Arbitrator for adjudication of disputes between the parties. 2.
The brief facts are that the respondent invited a tender for maintenance of horticulture works at office building i.e. residential area at Sector-5, National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Science, Rohini, Sector-3. The petitioner participated in the tender and was awarded the contract vide Letter of Award dated 17.07.2023. 3.
The General Conditions of Contract contained Arbitration Clause being Clause No. 25 which reads as under:
"(i) .... It is a term of contract that each party invoking arbitration must exhaust the aforesaid mechanism of settlement of claims/disputes prior to invoking arbitration. The CE/CPM/ADG/SDG shall in such case appoint the sole arbitrator or one of the three arbitrators as the case may be within 30 days of receipt of such a request and refer such The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above.
disputes to arbitration. Wherever the Arbitral Tribunal consists of three Arbitrators, the contractor shall appoint one arbitrator, within 30 days of making request for arbitration or of receipt of request by Engineer-in-charge to CE/ADG/SDG/DG for appointment of arbitrator, as the case may be, and two appointed arbitrators shall appoint the third arbitrator who shall act as the Presiding Arbitrator. In the event of (a) A party fails to appoint the second Arbitrator, or (b) The two appointed Arbitrators fail to appoint the Presiding Arbitrator, then the Director General, CPWD shall appoint the second or Presiding Arbitrator as the case may be.
(ii) Disputes or difference shall be referred for adjudication through arbitration by a Tribunal having sole arbitrator where claimed amount is Rs. 20 Crore or less. Where claimed Value is more than Rs. 20 Crore, Tribunal shall consist of three Arbitrators as above. The requirements of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (26 of 1996) and any further statutory modification or re-enactment thereof and the rules made there under and for the time being in force shall be applicable.
It is a term of this contract that the party invoking arbitration shall give a list of disputes with amounts claimed, if any, in respect of each such dispute along with the notice for appointment of arbitrator and giving reference to the decision of The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above.
the ADG/SDG on the finding/recommendation of DRC. It is also a term of this contract that member(s) of the Arbitration Tribunal shall be a Graduate Engineer with experience in handling public works engineering contracts, and further he shall have earlier worked at a level not lower than Chief Engineer/ equivalent (i.e. Joint Secretary level of Government of India). This shall be treated as a mandatory qualification to be appointed as arbitrator.
Parties, before or at the time of appointment of Arbitral Tribunal may agree in writing for fast track arbitration as per the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (26 of 1996) as amended in 2015.
Subject to provision in the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (26 of 1996) as amended in 2015 whereby the counter claims if any can be directly filed before the arbitrator without any requirement of reference by the appointing authority. The arbitrator shall adjudicate on only such disputes as are referred to him by the appointing authority and give separate award against each dispute and claim referred to him and in all cases where the total amount of the claims by any party exceeds Rs. 1,00,000/-, the arbitrator shall give reasons for the award. It is also a term of the contract that fees payable to arbitral tribunal shall be as approved by DG, CPWD, OM issued vide no.2/2006/SE(TLC)/CSQ/137 dated 19-11-2019 (or its latest amendment as approved by DG, CPWD). This fee shall be shared equally by parties.
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The place of arbitration shall be as mentioned in Schedule F. In case there is no mention of place of arbitration, the arbitral tribunal shall determine the place of arbitration. The venue of the arbitration shall be such place as may be fixed by the Arbitral Tribunal in consultation with both the parties. Failing any such agreement, then the Arbitral Tribunal shall decide the venue."
4.
Mr. Puri, learned Senior Panel Counsel for the respondent, states that she has no objection to the appointment of an Arbitrator as long as all legal rights and objections are left open for adjudication by the Arbitrator.
5.
I am satisfied that there exists a valid arbitration clause and there are disputes between the parties which need to be adjudicated through the arbitral mechanism.
6.
For the said reasons, the petition is allowed and the following directions are issued:- i) Mr. Varun Nischal, Advocate (Mob. No. 9811499378) is appointed as a Sole Arbitrator to adjudicate the disputes between the parties.
ii) The arbitration will be held under the aegis and rules of the Delhi International Arbitration Centre, Delhi High Court, Sher Shah Road, New Delhi (hereinafter, referred to as the 'DIAC').
iii) The remuneration of the learned Arbitrator shall be in terms of DIAC (Administrative Cost and Arbitrators' Fees) Rules, 2018.
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iv) The learned Arbitrator is requested to furnish a declaration in terms of Section 12 of the Act prior to entering into the reference.
v) It is made clear that all the rights and contentions of the parties, including as to the arbitrability of any of the claim, any other preliminary objection, as well as claims/counter-claims and merits of the dispute of either of the parties, are left open for adjudication by the learned arbitrator.
vi) The parties shall approach the learned Arbitrator within two weeks from today.
7.
The present petition is disposed of in the aforesaid terms. JASMEET SINGH, J NOVEMBER 7, 2025 / (MS) The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above.