B S N L Vs. SUBASH CHANDRA KANCHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) The parties herein entered into a contract pursuant to a notice inviting tender by Appellant No. 1 for the work of construction of 9 Nos. Type-V quarters at Jayadev Vihar, Bhubaneshwar. The said contract contained an arbitration clause in terms whereof the Chief Engineer, Telecommunication/ Postal Department in charge of the work at the time of dispute or if there be no Chief Engineer the administrative head of the said Telecommunication/ Postal Department was to be appointed as an arbitrator. The said provision envisaged that in terms thereof no person other than the one appointed by such Chief Engineer or administrative head of the Telecommunication/ Postal as aforesaid should act as arbitrator.

(3.) A notice in terms of arbitration agreement contained in clause 25 of the contract was issued by the Respondents on 7.1.2002. A letter appointing one Shri Gurbax Singh, Principal Chief Engineer (Arb.), New Delhi as the sole arbitrator was said to have been drafted on 4.2.2002. It, however, was dispatched on 7.02.2002. On the same day, having regard to the fact that allegedly the Managing Director of the Appellant did not respond to the notice issued to him, an application was filed by Respondent herein before the High Court of Orissa purported to be under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (for short "the 1996 Act").