JUDGMENT :

PRATEEK JALAN, J.

1. By way of this petition under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 [“the Act”], the petitioner seeks appointment of an arbitrator to adjudicate disputes between the parties under a “Shareholders Agreement” dated 20.07.2018 [“the Agreement”].

2. A preliminary question arises as to whether the petition is maintainable in this Court, in view of the fact that one of the parties to the Agreement – Mr. Nicholas Valladares (arrayed as respondent No. 5 in the petition), is admittedly not a national or habitual resident of India. The question depends upon whether the proposed arbitration would constitute an “international commercial arbitration” within the meaning of Section 2(1)(f) of the Act, in which case, the power to appoint an arbitrator under Section 11(9) of the Act would lie with the Chief Justice of India or his nominee, and not with this Court.

3. There are fifteen parties to the Agreement. The petitioner is described as the “Initial Shareholder” and thirteen individuals are collectively referred to as “Subsequent Shareholders”. A company by the name of Destinos India Gurus Private Limited [“Destinos”] is also a party to the Agreem