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* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI Reserved on:16th January, 2026 Pronounced on:19th January, 2026 + ARB. A. (COMM.) 11/2026, I.A. 1249/2026, I.A. 1250/2026 & I.A.

1251/2026 M/S R. K. ASSOCIATES AND HOTELIERS PVT. LTD.

.....Appellant Through: Mr. Sandeep Sethi and Mr. Sudhir Makkar, Sr. Advs. with Mr. Jasmeet Singh, Mr. Mahinder Singh Hura, Mr. Saif Ali, Mr. Pushpendra S. Bhadoriya, Mr. Vijay Sharma, Mr. Krisna Gambhir, Ms. Shreya Sethi, Ms. Riya Kumar, Mr. Akhilesh Kumar, Ms. Aadhya Shrotriya, Ms. Sanya C. Oberoi, Mr. Pranav Menon, Mr. Saurav and Mr. Ajith Willyams, Advocates Mob: 9910159955 Email: aor.jasmeetsingh@gmail.com versus INDIAN RAILWAY CATERING AND TOURISM CORPORATION LIMITED (IRCTC) .....Respondent Through: Mr. Saurav Agrawal and Mr. Rajat Malhotra, Advocates with Mr. Saksham Gupta, Ms. Madhu K. Singh, Ms. Kiran Devrani, Mr. Anshuman Chowdhary, Ms. Nikita Rathi and Mr. Parmeet Singh, Advocates Mob: 9953769317 CORAM:

HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE MINI PUSHKARNA

JUDGMENT

1. The present appeal has been filed under Section 37 (2)(b) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (“Arbitration Act”) against the interim order dated 12^th January, 2026 (“impugned order”) passed by the learned Sole Arbitrator in Delhi International Arbitration Centre (“DIAC”) Case Ref No. DIAC/12174/12-25. By way of the impugned order, the learned Arbitrator has dismissed the application of the appellant filed under Section 17 of the Arbitration Act.

2. The facts, as canvassed before this Court, are as follows:

2.1 Tender bearing no. 2024/IRCTC/P&T/CLUSTER/FEB/ECoR/ CLT/A-1 came to be floated by the respondent, i.e., Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Limited (“IRCTC”), which also contained the provisions relating to Master License Agreement. The services contemplated under the said tender consisted of two parts, which are as follows:

Part A- Dealing with the construction and operation of base kitchens at locations specified by the respondent.

Part B- Dealing with the provision of onboard catering services in cluster trains bearing cluster no. ECoR/CLT/A-1 run by the respondent, for a period of five years, further extendable upto two years.

2.2 The cluster included Train no. 12801-02, PURI-NDLS Purushottam Express (“subject train”), running up and down between New Delhi and Puri in Orissa.

2.3 The appellant came to be declared as the successful bidder for the aforesaid cluster, and by way of Letter of Award dated 01^st May, 2024, the appellant was awarded the license for the commissioning and operation of base kitchens along with provision of on-board catering services in all trains of the said cluster for a period of five years, further extendable to two years. 2.4 Subsequently, on 22^nd July, 2024, an agreement came to be entered into by the parties for the provision of services as mentioned under Part A of the tender.

2.5 Thereafter, on 31^st August, 2024, a Letter of Commencement came to be issued by the respondent in favour of the appellant, vide which the appellant was inter alia intimated to operate the base kitchens at the four places as notified in the tender and to commence the provision of on-board catering services in the subject train, with effect from 12^th September, 2024 till 11^th September, 2029.

2.6 Subsequent to the Letter of Commencement, from 12^th September, 2024, the agreement qua the services mentioned under Part B of the tender, came into force and the same was to remain valid till 11^th September, 2029.

2.7 Thereafter, disputes arose between the parties. The appellant raised grievances, complaints and wrote several letters regarding presence of unauthorized food venders on the train, due to which the appellant was unable to enjoy the full benefits of the agreement. The respondent on the other hand, issued two Show Cause Notices dated 03^rd April 2025 and 08^th April, 2025 to the appellant highlighting the complaints about service deficiencies against the appellant on the subject train. The appellant filed replies dated 14^th A