Synopsis

The petitioner (Tata Capital Limited) filed a petition under Section 11 of the Arbitration Act seeking appointment of a sole arbitrator to resolve disputes arising out of a Loan-cum-Guarantee Agreement. The parties were ad idem that disputes should be referred to arbitration. The court, relying on the Supreme Court’s decision in SBI General Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Krish Spinning (following the seven-Judge Bench decision in Interplay Between Arbitration Agreements under Arbitration Act, 1996 & Stamp Act, 1899, In re), reaffirmed that the referral court’s scope under Section 11(6A) is limited to a prima facie examination of the existence of an arbitration agreement. All other contentions, including eligibility of the arbitrator under the agreed criteria, were left for the arbitral tribunal to decide. The court appointed a former judicial member of the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal as sole arbitrator.

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. 1782/2025 (unreported)

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

1.  Heading of the judgment

High court of delhi at new delhi

Arb.p. 1782 of 2025 & i.a. 31638 of 2025

Tata capital limited (petitioner) vs. M/s unique auto sales private limited & ors. (respondents)

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) and 11(6a) (appointment of arbitrator by court), section 7 (arbitration agreement), section 12(2) (disclosures by arbitrator), section 21 (commencement of arbitral proceedings)

• Fourth schedule of the arbitration act – fee structure for arbitrators

Subject matter of the judgment:

Whether the court under Section 11 should examine the eligibility of the proposed arbitrator as per the arbitration clause (requiring a retired judge or a lawyer with 10+ years’ experience) or leave that issue to the arbitral tribunal; and what is the scope of judicial scrutiny at the referral stage post the Supreme Court’s decision in Krish Spinning.

Key legal principles applied:

... Upgrade to a Premium Plan to view the full judgment.