IN THE HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND AT NAINITAL Arbitration Petition No. 17 of 2008 Purnanand Vyas …… Petitioner Versus Tehri Hydro Development Corp. Ltd. …… Respondent …… Mr. Anurag Bisaria, Advocate for the petitioner. Mr. Shobhit Saharia, Advocate for the respondent. Hon’ble V.K. GUPTA, C. J. Reply has been filed by the respondent in the Court today which is taken on record. The disputes having arisen between the parties, on 04.08.2007 the petitioner sent a communication to the respondent raising certain claims and requesting the respondent to make the payment of the amounts mentioned in the said notice within one month or alternatively to refer the disputes to an Arbitrator to be appointed by the respondent for adjudication. This was followed by a legal notice dated 21.08.2007 on behalf of the petitioner sent to the respondent where again the aforesaid claims were reiterated and request was again made to either pay the amount in question or to refer the disputes to an Arbitrator by appointing the same within thirty day from the date of receipt of Notice. Vide communication dated 27.11.2007, the respondent acknowledged the aforesaid communication dated 04.08.2007 and the aforesaid legal notice dated 21.08.2007 and as far as the request of the petitioner for appointment of Arbitrator was concerned, replied as under: “As per said letter dated 21.08.07, your legal counsel has requested that the claims as mentioned in the letter dated 21.08.07 may be referred to arbitrator within period of 30 days from the date of receipt of his notice. Accordingly the name of arbitrator shall be communicated to you in shortly.” 2 It was on 22.02.2008 that the respondent intimated the petitioner about the appointment of Sri S.C. Sharma, retired General Manager of the respondent Corporation, as the sole Arbitrator to adjudicate upon the disputes between the parties. This petition was filed on 03.07.2008 i.e. almost 4½ months after the appointment of Sri S. C. Sharma as the sole Arbitrator. On 07.07.2008, the respondent appeared in the Court through its counsel Sri Shobhit Saharia. Because this Court noticed with anguish and dismay the conduct of the appointed Arbitrator in not acting in any manner in the arbitration proceedings for 4½ months, on 08.07.2008 the first communication was sent by the Arbitrator fixing the date for Arbitration as 16.07.2008. A copy of this communication has been filed as ‘Annexure-1’ to the reply filed by the respondent in this petition. In the reply, the respondent has very conspicuously omitted to give any explanation as to why did not Sri S.C.Sharma act in any manner for the past 4½ months in the arbitration proceedings. Apparently, the communication dated 08.07.2008 emanated from Sri S.C.Sharma only because of the intervention of this Court. Based on the aforesaid, I allow this petition and while removing Sri S.C.Sharma as sole Arbitrator for his failure to act for the past 4½ months, appoint Sri Justice(retd.) Rajesh Tandon, a former Judge of this Court as the sole Arbitrator exercising jurisdiction vesting in me U/s 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. (V. K. Gupta, C. J.) 11.07.2008 A