Mere neglect of an arbitrator to act or delay in passing the award by itself cannot be the ground to appoint another arbitrator in deviation from the terms agreed to by the parties

Citation

(2019) 3 SCC 282

AIR online 2019 SC 615

Rajasthan Small Industries Corporation Limited V. M/S Ganesh Containers Movers Syndicate

In this case, it was observed thatmere neglect of an arbitrator to act or delay in passing the award by itself cannot be the ground to appoint another arbitrator in deviation from the terms agreed to by the parties.The bench comprising of Justice R. Banumathi and Justice Indira Banerjee held thus while considering appeal against Rajasthan High Court order appointing a retired District Judge as the sole arbitrator to resolve the dispute between the parties, by allowing application under Section 11 and Section 15 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, filed by contractor