Contractual arbitration procedure must be followed before invoking Section 11 for arbitrator appointment.

Where a contract requires disputes to be resolved under the Rules of Arbitration of the Indian Council of Arbitration, the parties must first follow that agreed appointment procedure. Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 cannot be invoked straightaway unless the statutory contingencies for court intervention under Section 11(6) are shown to exist. Because the applicant bypassed the contractual arbitral mechanism and directly sought appointment of an arbitrator, the application was not maintainable and the designated court lacked authority to make the appointment; the appointment order was unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether a party could straightaway invoke Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 for appointment of an arbitrator when the contract required disputes to be resolved in accordance with the Rules of Arbitration of the Indian Council of Arbitration.

Analysis: The contract contained an arbitration clause requiring all disputes to be settled by arbitration in accordance with the Rules of Arbitration of the Indian Council of Arbitration. Under Section 11(2), the parties are free to agree on the procedure for appointing the arbitrator, and Sections 11(3), 11(4), 11(5) and 11(6) operate only in the situations contemplated by that provision. Where an agreed procedure exists, recourse to the Chief Justice or his designate is not available unless the contingencies specified in Section 11(6) arise. The respondent did not first pursue the agreed arbitral mechanism and instead moved the application directly under Section 11.

Conclusion: The application under Section 11 was not maintainable and the designated court had no jurisdiction or authority to appoint an arbitrator. The appointment order was unsustainable.

Ratio Decidendi: When the parties have agreed upon a specific procedure for appointment and resolution of disputes by arbitration, that agreed procedure must be followed and Section 11 cannot be invoked straightaway unless the statutory contingencies for intervention are shown to exist.

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