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CHANDRA DHARI SINGH
Anuj Kumar – Appellant
Versus
Franchise India Brands Limited – Respondent
ORDER
Chandra Dhari Singh, J. (Oral)
1. The instant petition under Section 14 read with Section 15 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (hereinafter "the Act") has been filed on behalf of the petitioner seeking the following reliefs:
"a. Allow the present petition and terminate the mandate of the Ld. Sole Arbitrator, Sh. Durgesh Kumar Pandey on account of the Arbitrator being dejure incapable of adjudicating the disputes between the Parties;
b. Appoint a neutral and impartial sole arbitrator and refer the dispute arising out of the Branch Agreement dated 17.02.2019 between the parties to the said neutral arbitrator if this Hon'ble Court deems fit that the disputes involved herein may be arbitrated;
c. Direct the Ld. Arbitral Tribunal to return the Arbitration Fees paid by the Petitioner.
d. Impose cost on the Respondent for unilaterally appointing the Ld. Sole Arbitrator for the dispute arising out of the Branch Agreement dated 27.02.2019 and acting in contravention to the law laid down on appointment of arbitrator.
e. Pass any other order(s) as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit in facts and circumstances of the present case."
FACTUAL MATRIX
2. The respondent approached petitione
Unilateral appointment of an arbitrator by a party with vested interests breaches principles of fairness and impartiality, rendering such appointment invalid under arbitration laws.
Point of Law : It is not open for the petitioner to challenge the learned Arbitrator on the ground that there are justifiable doubts as to his independence and impartiality in terms of the Guidelines....
A unilateral appointment of an arbitrator by one party contravenes Section 12(5) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, rendering the arbitral award void ab initio and against public policy.
The court emphasized the necessity for impartiality in arbitration, ruling that automatic appointments of arbitrators undermined the arbitration clause, rendering the award invalid.
Unilateral appointment of an Arbitrator without consent violates procedural fairness under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, leading to the termination of the mandate.
Participation in arbitration without objection constitutes a waiver of the right to challenge the appointment of the arbitrator, as per Sections 4 and 12 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act.
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