Nishadh Gandhi v. Rohit Kambhiri
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
Digitally signed by PURTI PRASAD PARAB Date:
2025.07.15 12:33:53 +0530 PURTI PRASAD PARAB ORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION COMM. ARBITRATION APPLICATION (L) NO. 17842 OF 2025 Shrenik Sudhir Gandhi ...Applicant
Versus
Rohit Kambhiri and Ors.
...Respondents
ALONGWITH COMM. ARBITRATION PETITION NO. 153 OF 2025 Nishadh Gandhi
...Petitioner
Versus
Rohit Kambhiri and Ors.
...Respondents
Mr. Yash Momaya a/w Mr. Bharat Jain and Mr. Romin Sangoi i/b I.C. Legal for the Applicant/Petitioner.
Ms. Riya Makwana a/w Ms. Labdhi Parekh i/b Makwana and Associates for Respondent No.3.
CORAM
: SOMASEKHAR SUNDARESAN, J.
DATE : JULY 3, 2025 ORDER :
1.
Commercial Arbitration Application (L) No. 17842 of 2025 is an Application filed under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 ("the Act") seeking appointment of an arbitrator in connection with disputes and differences that are said to have arisen between the parties in connection with Limited Liability Partnership Agreement dated August 20, 2020 ("Agreement"). The arbitration agreement is contained in Clause 36 of the Agreement (found at Page No. 63 of the Application). In the interest of brevity, the arbitration agreement is not being extracted here. Suffice it to say that this matter falls within the jurisdiction of this Court.
2.
The Applicant has invoked arbitration on May 8, 2025 to which there is no reply from the Respondent.
3.
The scope of review under Section 11 is explicitly set out in Section 11(6A) of the Act. It is now trite law, with particular regard to the Supreme Court's decision rendered by a seven-judge Bench in the Interplay Judgement1 followed by multiple others, including SBI General2 and Patel3 that the Section 11 Court ought not to venture beyond examining the existence of a validly existing arbitration agreement that has been formally executed. Even questions of existential substance is a matter that falls squarely in the domain of the arbitral tribunal, in view of Section 16 of the Act.
4.
Being satisfied that an arbitration agreement is validly in existence, and that arbitration has been duly invoked, it is in the fitness of things to refer the disputes and differences between the parties in connection with the aforesaid Agreement dated August 20, 2020 to arbitration by a Sole Arbitrator.
5.
In these circumstances, no useful purpose would be served by keeping this matter pending any further on the docket of this Court. This Application is finally disposed of in the following terms :- A] Mr. Rajesh Datar, a Learned Advocate of this Court, is hereby appointed as the Sole Arbitrator to adjudicate upon the 1 In Re: Interplay Between Arbitration Agreements under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 and Stamp Act, 1899 - (2024) 6 SCC 1 2 SBI General Insurance Co. Ltd. Vs. Krish Spinning - 2024 SCC OnLine SC 1754 3 Ajay Madhusudan Patel Vs. Jyotrindra S. Patel - 2024 SCC OnLine SC 2597
disputes and differences between the parties arising out of and in connection with the Agreement referred to above ; Address : 2, Blaze Business Centre, First Floor, Birla Mansion, Near Commerce House, 134, N.M.Road, Fort, Mumbai - 400 023.
E mail : rajeshdatar@yahoo.co.in B] A copy of this Order will be communicated to the Learned Sole Arbitrator by the Advocate for the Applicant within a period of one week from the date on which this order is uploaded on the website of this Court. The Applicant shall provide the contact and communication particulars of the parties to the Arbitral Tribunal along with a copy of this Order; C] The Learned Sole Arbitrator is requested to forward the statutory Statement of Disclosure under Section 11(8) read with Section 12(1) of the Act to the Advocate for the Applicant so as to enable them to file the same in the Registry of this Court. The Registry of this Court shall retain the said Statement on the file of this Application and a copy of the same shall be furnished by the Advocate for the Applicant to the Respondents;
D] The parties shall appear before the Learned Sole Arbitrator on such date and at such place as indicated, to obtain appropriate directions with regard to conduct of the arbitration including fixing a schedule for pleadings, examination of witnesses, if any, schedule of hearings etc. At such meeting, the parties shall provide a valid and functional email address along with mobile and landline numbers of the respective Advocates of the parties to the Arbitral Tribunal. Communications to such email addresses shall constitute valid
service of correspondence in connection with the arbitration; E] All arbitral costs and fees of the Arbitral Tribunal shall be borne by the parties equally in the first instance, and shall be subject to any final Award that may be passed by the Tribunal in relation to costs.
6.
Commercial Arbitration Petition No. 153 of 2025 is the Petition under Section 9 of the Act. However, since Application under Section 11 of the Act is allowed constituting an Arbitral Tribunal, ad-interim arrangements, if any, obtaining in the said Section 9 Petition as of today, shall continue for a period of 90 days from the date this order is uploaded on the website of this Court. Within such time, the Learned Arbitral Tribunal may reconsider the same in terms of whether it should be continued, altered, enhanced or modified in such manner as the Learned Arbitral Tribunal deems fit. Consequently, Section 9 Petition is hereby converted into an Application under Section 17 of the Act, leaving it to the Learned Arbitral Tribunal to deal with the same. 7.
Both the proceedings are finally disposed of in the aforesaid terms.
8.
Needless to say, nothing contained in this order is an expression of an opinion on merits of the matter or the relative strength of the parties. All issues on merits are expressly kept open to be agitated before the arbitral tribunal appointed hereby.
9.
All actions required to be taken pursuant to this order shall be taken upon receipt of a downloaded copy as available on this Court's website.
[ SOMASEKHAR SUNDARESAN, J.]