JUDGMENT :

Moushumi Bhattacharya, J.

1. The petitioner seeks appointment of arbitrators in place and stead of the arbitrators who were appointed by an order of Court dated 22.2.2022. The arbitrators were later elevated to the Bench/relocated outside India and communicated their inability to perform their duties. The petitioner has filed the present applications for appointment of arbitral tribunals under sections 14 and 15 of The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.

2. The question which falls for adjudication is the governing provisions of the 1996 Act with regard to the appointment of the Tribunal. In other words, whether the procedure for appointment of a new arbitral tribunal should revert to

i) section 14 of the Act which contemplates an arbitrator’s failure or impossibility to act or

ii) to section 11 where the Court intervenes in the matter of appointment of arbitrators subject to circumstances existing under the situations envisaged in section 11 of the Act.

3. The petitioner urges that the appointment should be governed by section 14 while the respondent stresses on the need to start afresh from the stage of section 11(5) of the Act. The submissions made on behalf of the par