The existence of a valid arbitration agreement necessitates the appointment of an arbitrator under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.

ORDER

Dated this the 13^th day of December, 2024 This Arbitration Request is filed by the petitioner, invoking Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act , 1996, seeking to appoint an Arbitrator to resolve the disputes between them and the respondent. 2. The petitioner entered into a ‘Renewal of Dealer Agreement’

dated 11.08.2008 (Annexure A2) with the respondent, which is a Public Limited Company. The said agreement contained an arbitration clause whereby disputes, if any, between the parties arising under the said agreement would be resolved by taking recourse to arbitration proceedings. It is further stated that the parties shall submit such disputes, to arbitration as envisaged in the Rules evolved by the ‘International Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution’. The place of arbitration proceedings was agreed to as Ernakulam, Kerala.

3. Subsequently, disputes arose between the parties. The petitioner issued Annexure A3 lawyer notice dated 28.08.2024 to the respondent, inter alia invoking the arbitration clause and suggesting that the dispute be submitted to arbitration as envisaged in the Annexure A2 agreement.

4. Aggrieved that the respondent had not responded to the said notice, the petitioner has filed this petition invoking Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act , 1996 inter alia pointing out that the institution, ‘International Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution’ mentioned in the agreement is no longer in existence. The petition was admitted into file and the respondent entered appearance through their counsel.

5. Heard Sri.R.Padmaraj, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner and Smt.Latha Anand, learned counsel for the respondent.

6. Both sides are ad idem regarding the existence of the arbitration agreement and on the need to appoint an Arbitrator to resolve their disputes. It was submitted in unison that a retired District Judge from the panel of Arbitrators maintained by this Court may be appointed as the Arbitrator.

7. Accordingly, this Arbitration Request stands allowed and it is ordered as follows :

(i) Sri.Sundaram Govind, Retired District Judge, ‘Manu Maya’, East Kadungallur, Aluva-2, is nominated as the sole Arbitrator to resolve the disputes that have arisen between the petitioner and the respondent under Annexure-A2 agreement.

(ii)The learned Arbitrator may entertain all issues between the parties in connection with the said agreement, including questions of jurisdiction and limitation, if any, raised by the parties.

(iii) The Registry shall communicate a copy of this order to the learned Arbitrator within ten days from today and obtain a Statement of Disclosure from the learned Arbitrator as stipulated under Section 11 (8) read with Section 12 (1) of the Act.

(iv) Upon receipt of the Disclosure Statement, the Registry shall issue to the learned Arbitrator a certified copy of this order with a copy of the Disclosure Statement appended. The Original of the Disclosure Statement shall be retained in Court.

(v) The fees of the learned Arbitrator shall be governed by the Fourth Schedule of the Act.