The court's jurisdiction to appoint an arbitrator under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 when the parties are unable to agree on the arbitrator.

JUDGMENT

C Hari Shankar, J. - By this petition, preferred under Section 11 (6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (hereinafter referred to as "the 1996 Act"), the petitioner prays for appointment of an arbitrator, to arbitrate on the dispute between the petitioner and the respondent.

2. The dispute arises out of a Management Service Agreement, dated 29th June, 2019 (hereinafter referred to as "the MSA"), executed between the petitioner and the respondent.

3. The paragraphs in the petition which, as per the petitioner, set out the dispute between the parties, are haphazardly numbered but, for ready reference, may be reproduced thus:

"9. In and around mid of 2019, the Respondent had expressed its interest in availing the services of Oravel Stays Private Limited (the "Erstwhile Company") and in pursuance of the same, the Respondent had made several representations to the Erstwhile Company regarding the Property. Subsequently, the Parties engaged in negotiations and entered into a Management Services Agreement dated 29 June 2020 ("MSA"). A copy of the MSA is enclosed herewith.

10. It is most humbly submitted that based upon the representations of the Respondent, the Erstwhile Company (now the Petitioner) had paid an Interest-Free Security Deposit ("IFSD") of INR 17,50,000 to the Respondent.

11. Some relevant extracts of the MSA are provided herein below for ready reference:

"Article 1 "/Approvals" shall mean licenses, NOC, approvals required as per laws and regulations to construct the Venue and to run the Venue for business purposes, i.e., banquet services, wedding services including but not limited to food and beverage services, catering, serving liquor to guests, approved/ sanctioned venue plans, commencement certificate, occupancy certificate or equivalent, Venue usage as per applicable law and regulation, NOC from fire authorities and electricity and water connections."

"Article 3: Term

3.1 This Agreement shall commence from Execution Date and shall be valid for a period of 5 years (five years) unless terminated earlier in accordance with Article 9 of this Agreement. The Parties shall extend the Term of this Agreement on mutual consent basis, in writing, and to be signed by the authorized representative of both Parties."

"4.2 The service provider shall on the commencement date deposit an interest free refundable security deposit ("IFRSD") equivalent to Rs. 17,50,000 (Indian Rupees Seventeen Lakh Fifty Thousand only) under this agreement on the Commencement Date. IFRSD in full, shall be refunded to the owner by the service provider on expiry/termination of this Agreement. Failing which, the service provider shall have the right to deduct equivalent amount from benchmark revenue payable by the Service Provider. The Service Provider shall have the right to continue to set off the IFRSD amount from the benchmark revenue till the time the entire IFRSD is recovered by the Service Provider in case the amount of the IFRSD to be recovered is more than the monthly benchmark revenue. It is clarified that the owner shall not be entitled to terminate this Agreement irrespective of expiry of the Owners lock in, till full security amount is recovered by the Service Provider"

"5.2 OWNER'S RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS

The Owner Shall:

5.2.5 Remain solely responsible and liable for all taxes, cess or duty, any ground rents, municipal taxes, real estate taxes, personal Venue taxes and assessments and any other charges in respect of the Venue/Venue that are payable in relation to the title of or use of the Venue or in relation to the business of providing banquet services on a commercial basis. In the event the Owner fails to pay such taxes or dues. due to which the Service Provider is hindered in any manner and therefore unable to fulfill its obligations under this Agreement including but not limited to not being able to provide Services in a smooth and efficient manner or the business at the Venue is getting disrupted or is threatened to be disrupted