JUDGMENT :

SANJEEV NARULA, J.

1. The present petition under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 [hereinafter, ‘the Act’], seeks appointment of a Sole Arbitrator. Vide order dated 8th February, 2021, the Respondent [hereinafter, ‘MSD’] was called upon to file a reply to the petition. No reply had been filed till the next date of hearing, i.e. 8th April, 2021, and further time was sought in this regard. At that stage, after hearing the counsel for the Petitioner [hereinafter, ‘IMZ’] as well as the learned senior counsel for MSD at considerable length on objections to the petition, the Court had proceeded to decide the case and dictated the order in open court, wherein the present petition was being disposed of.

2. However, upon a closer scrutiny of facts, the matter was directed to be listed for further arguments on 27th April, 2021 on the aspect of payment of insufficient/nil stamp duty and impounding of the MoU executed between the parties, which contains the arbitration clause. Prior to the said hearing, MSD filed its reply to the petition on 19th April, 2021. Thus, the objections raised by MSD’s counsel during the hearings, as well those pleaded in the reply, ha