JUDGMENT

Applicant is a non-banking finance company. The respondents entered into a hire purchase agreement on 13.03.2013 with the applicant company to take on hire an excavator. It was agreed that an amount of Rs.7,00,000/- (Rupees Seven Lakhs only) and finance charges of Rs.1,68,000/- (Rupees One Lakhs Sixty Eight Thousand only) would be repaid in 24 monthly installments. According to the applicant the respondents defaulted repayment of the amounts. On 25.10.2016, the applicant issued a notice invoking the arbitration clause in Annexure A1 agreement. Thereafter, arbitration proceedings were initiated. An award was passed on 12.10.2017. The applicant approached the District Court, Thrissur in E.P.No.1145 of 2022 for executing the award. However, the execution court dismissed the E.P by order dated 10.11.2023 for the reason that the appointment of the Arbitrator was unilateral. It was found that the award was not enforceable as the appointment of the Arbitrator was illega