GAIL INDIA LTD Vs. ADVANCE INFRASTRUCTURES PVT. LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Appellant impugns order dtd. 13/10/2023, whereby in a petition under Sec. 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (hereinafter referred to as the Act), a learned Single Judge of this Court has restrained the appellant from encashing the Performance Security Bank Guarantee dtd. 19/7/2021 as amended on 26/9/2023.

(2.) Learned senior counsel appearing for the appellant submits that the petition under Sec. 9 of the Act was not maintainable inasmuch as the Central Bureau of Investigation has registered an FIR alleging corrupt practices and since an FIR was registered, the same became an excepted matter in terms of sub-clause 2.6 of Clause 44 (i.e. Dispute Resolution Mechanism) of the subject contract.

(3.) Learned counsel further submits that the petition itself was premature for the reason that invocation of the Bank Guarantee had not yet happened.