JUDGEMENT

Prathiba M. Singh, J.

1. This hearing has been done through hybrid mode.

2. These three petitions raise an important issue concerning appointment of an arbitrator under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (hereinafter, the ‘Act, 1996’) in employment contracts.

3. The two main questions that arise for consideration in these petitions are:

i. Whether a lock-in period in employment contracts is valid in law, or does it violate the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution of India?

ii. Whether disputes relating to a lock-in period in employment contracts are arbitrable in terms of the Act, 1996?

4. The parties in all the three petitions are set out in the following table: Case Number Petitioner Respondents Agreement ARB.P.

1210/2023 Lily Packers Private Limited Ms. Vaishnavi Vijay Umak Service Employment Agreement (Executive) dated 16th April, 2022 ARB.P.

1212/2023 Lily Packers Private Limited Mr. Meetkumar Patel Service Employment Agreement (Executive) dated 30th June, 2021 ARB.P.

1213/2023 Lily Packers Private Limited Mr. Rahul Sharma Service Employment Agreement (Executive) dated 21st March, 2022 The facts in each of the three petition