ORDER :

In this application under Section 11 (5) & (6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (for short, “the 1996 Act”), the applicant prays for appointment of an arbitrator for adjudication of disputes between the parties arising out of work order dated 06.11.2011 issued to the applicant by the respondents. The nature of work under the said work order was to eliminate pilferage of imported coking coal/coke during transit from stockyards at Visakhapatnam Port Trust and Gangavaram Port Trust to Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL), Durgapur Steel Plant (DSP), Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP), Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP), ISP Steel Plant (ISP) and Durgapur Projects Limited (DPL).

2. According to the applicant, problem started during execution of the contract when the respondents stopped paying the bills raised by the applicant and despite request, respondents did not make payment, constraining it to file O.S.No.847 of 2014 on the file of the Metropolitan Sessions Judge-cum-I Additional District Judge, Visakhapatnam for recovery of the bill amounts, for which the respondents raised objection as to the maintainability referring to the arbitration clause in the work order. The District Judge passed a