Delhi High Court NcclPremco(Jv) vs Rail Vikas Nigam Limited on 11 October, 2018 Equivalent citations: AIRONLINE 2018 DEL 2190 $44 * Date of decision: 11.10.2018 + ARB.P. 627/2018 NCCLPREMCO(JV) ..... Petitioner Through: Dr.Amit George, Mr.Rishabh Dheer, Mr.Swaroop George, Ms.Rajshree Ajay, Advs. versus RAIL VIKAS NIGAM LIMITED ..... Respondent Through: Mr.Anil Seth, Adv. HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE NAVIN CHAWLA NAVIN CHAWLA, J. (Oral) 1. This petition under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act') has been filed by the petitioner seeking appointment of a nominee Arbitrator on behalf of the respondent and the Presiding Arbitrator for constituting the Arbitral Tribunal to adjudicate the disputes that have arisen between the parties in relation to the work of Construction of Roadbed, Major and Minor Bridges, Track Linking (Excluding supply of Rail and PSC sleepers), General Electrical, Traction and Signal & Telecommunication works (Outdoor) in connection with Doubling with Railway Electrification of Gudivada Bhimavaram Town stations (Excluding Moturu & Arb. P. No.627/2018 Page 1 Bhimavaram Town yards) on Vijayawada division of South Central Railway awarded to the petitioner by the respondent vide Letter of Acceptance dated 13.03.2013 and the subsequent Agreement dated 22.05.2013. 2. The said Agreement contains an Arbitration Agreement between the parties in form of clause 20.3 of the General Conditions of Contract, the relevant portion of which is reproduced hereinbelow: "20.3 Arbitration Any dispute in respect of which amicable settlement has not been reached arising between the Employer and the Domestic or Foreign Contractor related to any matter arising out of or connected with this contract, the disputes shall be settled in accordance with the Indian Arbitration & Conciliation Act,. 1996 and any statutory modification or reenactment thereof. Further, it is agreed between the parties as under: 20.3.1 Number of Arbitrators: The arbitral tribunal shall consist of: (i) Sole Arbitrator in cases where the total value of all claims in question added together does not exceed Rs.50 Lakhs (ii) 3 (Three) arbitrators in all other cases. 20.3.2 Procedure for Appointment of Arbitrators: The arbitrators shall be appointed as per following procedure: (i) In case of Sole Arbitrator: MD/RVNL shall appoint any working officer of RVNL not below the rank of AGM. (ii) In case of 3 Arbitrators (a) Employer will forward a panel of 3 names Arb. P. No.627/2018 Page 2 to the contractor and contractor will give his consent for any one name out of the panel to be appointed as one of the Arbitrators. (b) Employer will decide the second Arbitrator out of the remaining two names in the panel as mentioned in para (a) above. (c) The third Arbitrator shall be chosen by the two Arbitrators so appointed by the parties and shall act as Presiding Arbitrator. In case of failure of the two Arbitrators appointed by the parties to reach upon consensus within a period of 30 days from the appointment of the Arbitrators subsequently appointed, then, upon the request of either or both parties, the presiding Arbitrator shall be appointed by the Managing Director, Rail Vikas Nigam Limited, New Delhi. 20.3.3 Qualification and Experience of Arbitrators: The arbitrators to be appointed shall have minimum qualifica