Section 11(6) arbitration relief may be refused where the applicant abandons the petition and acquiesces in the arbitral process.

Once an application under Section 11(6) is filed, the opposite party ordinarily loses the contractual right to appoint an arbitrator thereafter. Here, however, the applicant had filed the petition, failed to pursue it, did not secure effective service for years, participated in constitution of the tribunal, filed a statement of claim, and allowed the arbitration to end in an ex parte award. On those facts, the SC upheld the refusal to appoint another arbitrator and left the applicant to pursue the statutory challenge to the award.

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Issues: Whether the High Court erred in declining to appoint an arbitrator under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 despite an earlier application for appointment having been filed.

Analysis: The governing principle is that once an application under Section 11(6) is filed, the opposite party ordinarily loses the contractual right to appoint an arbitrator thereafter. However, the factual matrix showed that the applicant filed the petition and then did not pursue it, no effective notice was served for years, the applicant itself participated in the constitution of the tribunal, filed a statement of claim, and later allowed the proceedings to culminate in an ex parte award. In those circumstances, the High Court declined to exercise its jurisdiction to appoint another arbitrator and left the applicant to pursue remedies against the award.

Conclusion: The refusal to appoint an arbitrator was upheld and the challenge failed.

Final Conclusion: The decision affirms that a belated or abandoned Section 11(6) request, coupled with participation in the arbitral process, can justify refusal to interfere and relegation to the statutory challenge against the award.

Ratio Decidendi: Although the filing of a Section 11(6) application may forfeit the respondent's right to appoint an arbitrator thereafter, the Court may decline relief where the applicant's own conduct shows abandonment of the petition and acquiescence in the arbitral process.

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