Consent referral to arbitration in a company dispute led to setting aside the tribunal orders and appointing a sole arbitrator.

The SC, by consent of the parties, referred a company dispute to arbitration after accepting that the controversy was better suited to arbitral adjudication. A sole arbitrator was appointed, Delhi was fixed as the seat of arbitration, and the arbitrator's fee was left to be settled in consultation with the parties. The earlier NCLT and NCLAT orders on maintainability were expressly set aside, and all contentions were kept open. The appeal was disposed of on the basis of the parties' consensus.

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Issues: Whether the company dispute should be referred to arbitration by consent of the parties and the orders of the National Company Law Tribunal and National Company Law Appellate Tribunal should be set aside.

Analysis: The parties jointly sought disposal of the matter on consent terms and placed draft minutes of consent order on record. The Court accepted the consensus that the disputes were better suited for arbitral adjudication, appointed a sole arbitrator, fixed the seat of arbitration at Delhi, and left the arbitrator's fee to be settled in consultation with the parties. The earlier orders relating to maintainability before the tribunals were expressly set aside, and all contentions were kept open.

Conclusion: The dispute was referred to arbitration by consent, the impugned tribunal orders were set aside, and the appeal was disposed of accordingly.

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