JUDGMENT :

(Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya, J.) :

1. The petitioner has preferred an application under Section 36 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (for short, “the 1996 Act”) for enforcement of an ex parte award. The award-debtor challenges the maintainability of the same on the ground that the appointment of the Arbitrator was unilateral on the part of the award-debtor, which vitiates the inherent jurisdiction of the Arbitrator, who was de jure ineligible in terms of Section 12(5), read with the Seventh Schedule, of the 1996 Act, to pass the award. Accordingly, it is contended that the award itself, being a nullity, was void ab initio. Hence, even without any challenge under Section 34 of the 1996 Act having been filed, the inexecutability of the award can be set up as a defence in a proceeding for enforcement of the same.

2. Learned counsel for the award-debtor relies on the language of the Section 36 of the 1996 Act, in particular sub-section (1) thereof, in support of his contentions.

3. Learned counsel for the award-debtor places reliance on the Judgment of Bharat Broadband Network Ltd. v. United Telecoms Ltd., reported at (2019) 5 SCC 755, where the Supreme Court obse