Badar Durrez Ahmed, J. (Oral) This is an application under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation. Act, 1996 (herein referred to as the said Act). The petitioner/applicant seeks the appointment of an arbitrator to enter upon the reference and adjudicate the differences and disputes between the parties in terms of clause 27 of the general conditions of contract. The said clause 27 contains the arbitration clause and the entire procedure for arbitration and it would be material to reproduce the same for disposal of this application:

"27.0ARBITRATION 27.1 If any dispute or difference of any kind whatsoever shall arise between the purchaser and the Contractor, arising out of the Contract for the performance of the works whether during the progress of the works or after its completion or whether before or after the termination, abandonment or breach of the Contract, it shall, in the first place, be referred to and settled by the Engineer, who, within a period of thirty (30) days after being requested by either party todo so, shall give written notice of his decision to the Purchaser and the Contractor.

27.2. Save as hereinafter provided, such decision in respect of every matter so referred shall be final and binding upon the parties until the completion of the entire work under the Contract and shall forthwith be given effect to by the Contractor who shall comply with all such decisions, with all due diligence, whether he or the Purchaser requires arbitration as hereinafter provided or not.

27.3. If after the Engineer has given written notice of his decision to the parties, no claim to arbitration has been communicated to him by either party within thirty (30) days from the receipt of such notice, the said decision shall become final and binding on the parties.

27.4. In the event of the Engineer failing to notify his decision as aforesaid within thirty (30) days after being requested as aforesaid, or in the event of either the Purchaser or the Contractor being dissatisfied' with any such decision, or within thirty (30) days after the expiry of the first mentioned period of thirty (30) days, as the case may be, either party may require, by written notice to the other party, that the matters in dispute be referred to arbitration as hereinafter provided.

27.5. All disputes or differences in respect of which the decision, if any, of the Engineer has not become final or binding as aforesaid, shall be settled by arbitration in the manner hereinafter provided.

27.6 In the event of the Contractor being an Indian party, that is to say a citizen and/or a permanent resident of India, a firm or a company duly registered or incorporated in India, the arbitration shall be conducted by three arbitrators, one each to be nominated by the Contractor and the Purchaser and the third to be named by the President of the Institution of Engineers, India. If either of the parties fails to appoint its arbitrator within sixty (60) days after receipt of a notice from the other party invoking the Arbitration clause, the President of the Institution of Engineers, India, shall have the power at the request of either of the parties, to appoint the arbitrator. A certified copy of the said President making such an appointment shall be furnished to both the parties.

27.7. The arbitration shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Indian Arbitration Act, 1940 or any statutory modification thereof. The venue of arbitration shall be Delhi, India.

27.8 In the event of foreign Contractor, the arbitration shall be conducted by three arbitrators, one each to be nominated by the Purchaser and the Contractor and the third to be named by the President of the International Chamber of Commerce, Paris, save as above all Rules of Conciliation and Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce shall apply to such arbitrations. The arbitration shall be conducted at Delhi, India. The language of arbitration shall be English.

27.9. The decision of t