Synopsis

The petitioner sought appointment of a sole arbitrator under Section 11 based on an arbitration clause that provided for unilateral appointment – “sole arbitrator to be appointed by Ambience”. The respondent objected that such a unilateral appointment clause is impermissible in law. The court, while acknowledging that unilateral appointment of an arbitrator is not valid, held that the existence of an arbitration agreement itself was not in dispute. Therefore, the court appointed an independent arbitrator under the aegis of the Delhi International Arbitration Centre (DIAC), disregarding the offending portion of the clause. The court followed the limited scope of Section 11 as laid down in SBI General Insurance v. Krish Spinning, confining itself to the existence of an arbitration agreement.

Court: High Court of Delhi at New Delhi

Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar

Date of Decision: 23rd April 2026

Citation: ARB.P. 236/2026 (unreported)

Core Law: Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 – Sections 11(6), 11(6A), 12(2), 21

1. Heading of the judgment

High court of delhi at new delhi

Arb.p. 236 of 2026

M/s ambience developers and infrastructure pvt ltd (petitioner) vs. M/s anon foods and beverages pvt ltd (respondent)

Coram: hon’ble mr. justice harish vaidyanathan shankar

Date: 23rd april, 2026

2. Legal framework

Major laws and provisions involved:

• Arbitration and conciliation act, 1996 – section 11(6) (appointment of arbitrator by court), section 11(6a) (scope limited to existence of arbitration agreement), section 7 (arbitration agreement), section 12(2) (disclosure by arbitrator), section 21 (commencement of arbitral proceedings)

Subject matter of the judgment:

Whether a petition under Section 11 should be dismissed or an arbitrator appointed when the arbitration clause provides for unilateral appointment (one party having exclusive right to appoint the arbitrator), and whether the court can appoint an independent arbitrator ignoring such unilateral provision.

Key legal principles applied:

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