...For the respondent The Court:Two interesting questions have been raised in the present application under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (for short “the 1996 Act”) – whether a prior notice under Section 21 of the Act was a mandatory pre-requisite for moving the application under Section 11, and what would be the implication of the requirement in the concerned arbitration clause for the ‘Court’ under the said Act to appoint an arbitrator.

The arbitration clause contained in the development agreement, which is relied on by the petitioner, provides that all disputes and differences between the parties thereto regarding the construction or interpretation of any of the terms and conditions therein contained or touching those presents or determination of any liability, shall be referred to the arbitration by the arbitrator, appointed by the “COURT” under the provisions of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 and/or Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2015.

Learned Senior Counsel appearing for the petitioner argues that since there is no provision in the 1996 Act for the ‘Court’, as defined in Section 2 of the 1996 Act, to appoint an arbitrator, t