ORDER

This petition has been filed under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, challenging the impugned Arbitral Award dated

20.10.2023.

2.The petitioner availed loan from the first respondent under a Loan Agreement. There arose dispute between the parties under the Loan Agreement. In the Loan Agreement, there exists an arbitration clause. As per the arbitration clause, the first respondent, who is the lender, is having a unilateral power to appoint an Arbitrator. By exercising the said power, the first respondent has appointed an Arbitrator unilaterally, who has passed the impugned Arbitral Award. Aggrieved by the unilateral appointment of an Arbitrator and aggrieved by the impugned Arbitral Award, the petitioner has filed this petition under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act challenging the impugned Arbitral Award.

3.The law is now well settled by the decision rendered by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Perkins Eastman Architects DPC and another vs. HSCC (India) Limited reported in (2020) 20 SCC 760 wherein it has been categorically held that unilateral appointment of an Arbitrator by a party to the dispute is not permissible under law. Since t