Case Comment: Uttarakhand Purv Sainik Kalyan Nigam Ltd. Vs. Northern Coal Field Ltd.

Anurag, Symbiosis Law School, Pune

Appeal No.: Special Leave Petition (C) No. 11476 of 2018 Judgment Date: 27-Nov-19 Court/Bench: Supreme Court of India Coram : Ms. Justice Indu Malhotra and Mr. Justice Ajay Rastogi

Introduction:

The Petitioner-Uttarakhand Purv Sainik Kalyan Nigam and the Respondent-Northern Coal Field Ltd entered into an agreement, whereby the Petitioner was to provide security services to the Respondent as per the agreed contractual terms. However, disputes arose between the parties with respect to payment of amounts due under the contract, and the deduction of the security amount from the running bills. The Petitioner issued a Notice of Arbitration in accordance with the arbitration clause, calling upon the Respondent to nominate a Sole Arbitrator to adjudicate the disputes. The Respondent failed to respond, and the Petitioner thus filed an Application with the High Court under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, invoking the court's power to appoint a sole arbitrator. The High Court, however, held that the claims of the Petitioner were barred by limitation and thus no arbitrator could be appointed.