REPORTABLE

2026 INSC 5 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CIVIL APPEAL NO. 36 of 2026 (@ Special Leave Petition (Civil) No. 5834 of 2025)

Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited …Appellant(s)

VERSUS Santosh Cordeiro and Another …Respondent(s)

J U D G M E N T

K.V. Viswanathan, J.

1. Leave granted.

2. The present appeal calls in question the correctness of the order dated 02.05.2024 passed by the Single Judge of the High Court of Judicature at Bombay in Commercial Arbitration Application No.9 of 2024. By the said order, the learned Single Judge allowed the Section 11 Application filed by the Signature Not Verified Digitally srigneed byspondent under the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 (for CHANDRESH Date: 2026.01.05 Reason:

short “the A&C Act”) and appointed an arbitrator to adjudicate the dispute between the parties. The only objection taken by the appellant herein was that the dispute is non-arbitrable in view of Section 41 of the Presidency Small Cause Courts Act, 1882 (for short “the 1882 Act”). The learned Single Judge made a short shrift of the said objection by holding that the place where the property in question, which was the subject matter of the di