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Judgment
Vipin Sanghi, CJ
No reply has been filed by the respondent.
Learned counsel for the respondent states that the reply is ready.
Let the same be filed in the Registry during the course of the day.
I have inquired from learned counsel for the respondent as to what is the stand of the respondent. Learned counsel submits that the respondent has no objection to the appointment of an Arbitrator to adjudicate the disputes which have arisen between the parties under the Super Distributor Agreement dated 02.01.2012. However, the Arbitrator may be appointed, either from Orissa, or from Delhi considering the fact that the respondent is situated in Orissa.
Learned counsel for the applicant has no objection to the appointment of an Arbitrator by this Court, who is stationed at Delhi.
Accordingly, I proceed to dispose of this application.
The case of the applicant is that the parties entered into the Super Distributor Agreement dated 02.01.2012, where-under the respondent was appointed as the Super Distributor by the applicant for distribution of its products. The said agreement contains an arbitration clause, which states that “all disputes will be settled through arbitrator appointed by PAL in Haridwar”. PAL means Patanjali Ayurved Limited, which is the applicant. However, the applicant cannot appoint as an Arbitrator in its own cause, and consequently, the applicant invoked the arbitration agreement on 12.03.2022, suggesting the name of three persons, one of whom could be appointed as an Arbitrator. The respondent, however, did not revert by consenting to one of the names suggested by the applicant.
The arbitration application filed by the respondent before the High Court of Orissa at Cuttack, being Arbitration Petition No.27 of 2022, was disposed of on the ground of lack of territorial jurisdiction. It is, therefore, clear that the parties entered into the aforesaid agreement, which contains an arbitration clause, where-under disputes under the Super Distribution Agreement dated 02.01.2012 are required to be resolved.
Accordingly, this application is allowed, and I appoint Ms. Justice Mukta Gupta, Retd. Judge, High Court of Delhi, (Mobile No. 9650788600), to act as the sole Arbitrator to adjudicate the disputes between the parties, under the aforesaid Agreement/ Contract.
The present application stands disposed of in the aforesaid terms.
Pending application, if any, also stands disposed of.