Amazon Seller Services Private Limited vs. Goodluck Buildtech Private Limited & Ors.
Background
Amazon Seller Services had leased warehouse space at the Horizon Urban Logistics Park in Alipur, Delhi from Goodluck Buildtech. Amazon alleged the landlord failed to provide promised access, an occupancy certificate, and utility connections on time, and terminated the lease, invoking an indemnity claim of about Rs. 182.50 crore; the landlord disputed the termination, blaming force majeure. After termination, Amazon began removing its fixtures and equipment (worth roughly Rs. 120 crore), but says the landlord then blocked its access to the premises, prompting this urgent court petition.
Decision Breakdown
The landlord's senior counsel gave an undertaking not to obstruct Amazon's access for four weeks. Both sides then agreed, by consent, to resolve the whole dispute through arbitration, and the Court appointed a retired Supreme Court judge, Justice S. Ravindra Bhat, as sole arbitrator. The Court converted the pending Section 9 petition into a Section 17 application to be decided by the arbitrator, and separately appointed a local court commissioner to inspect the premises, prepare a photographed/videographed inventory of Amazon's assets there, and report to the arbitrator.
Lesson Learnt
When parties agree to resolve a dispute by arbitration even after one side has already gone to court for urgent interim protection, Indian courts can smoothly hand the matter over to an arbitrator (converting a Section 9 court petition into a Section 17 arbitral application) and use practical tools like a court-appointed inspector to preserve evidence about disputed property in the meantime: a useful precedent for anyone facing a landlord-tenant standoff over exit/asset-removal rights.