Upholding Arbitral Autonomy: Supreme Court Clarifies Scope of Judicial Interference u/s 11

Arbitral autonomy: referral courts must limit Section 11 scrutiny to prima facie existence of arbitration agreements.

The referral court's inquiry under Section 11 is limited to the prima facie existence of an arbitration agreement; issues such as alleged accord and satisfaction and mixed questions of law and fact do not negate the arbitration clause and are within the arbitral tribunal's exclusive competence. Legislative intent behind the 2015 amendments supports minimal judicial interference at the appointment stage, and limitation under Section 11(6) should be confined to timeliness, leaving substantive limitation defenses to the tribunal.