SOHAN BAI Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present Arbitration Application has been filed by the applicant under Sec. 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act of 1996'), seeking appointment of an arbitrator to adjudicate the dispute pending between the parties in relation to the operating of a Refreshment Trolley No. 2 at West Central Railway, Kota. The said trolley was licensed to sell fruits, sweets, tea, and other commodities in the name of the applicant's late husband, Shri Krishan Kumar Nagar, who passed away on 3/11/2023.

(2.) Brief facts giving rise to the present application are that after the demise of her husband, the applicant, Smt. Sohan Bai was not permitted to continue operations or transfer the trolley license in her name, despite the existence of a subsisting agreement dtd. 8/5/2010. Being aggrieved by the respondents' actions and their attempt to dispossess her, the applicant filed S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 3063/2024 titled as 'Sohan Bai vs. Union of India & Ors.', whereby a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court, while disposing of the petition, granted liberty to the applicant to initiate proceedings for appointment of an arbitrator in terms of the Catering Policy, 2017.

(3.) That pursuant to the liberty granted, the applicant, vide notice dtd. 6/3/2024, requested the respondents to appoint an independent arbitrator not below the rank of a retired District Judge. Despite receipt of the said notice, the respondents failed to act upon it and did not appoint an arbitrator.