Dr Mahesh Y Reddy vs. Kevin Marcus William Govinder Singh Ollausson
Background
Dr Mahesh Y Reddy had filed a Section 9 petition before the Delhi High Court seeking interim protection pending arbitration of a dispute with Kevin Marcus William Govinder Singh Ollausson. The Supreme Court, by an order dated 17.08.2026, had in the meantime appointed an arbitrator to resolve the underlying dispute. Dr Reddy applied to the High Court for leave to convert his pending Section 9 petition into a Section 17 application, so it could be taken up directly by the newly appointed arbitrator instead of the Court.
Decision Breakdown
With no objection from the respondent, the Court allowed the application and converted the Section 9 petition into a Section 17 application, to be decided by the Sole Arbitrator once he enters into the reference. The Court disposed of the petition without going into the merits of the underlying dispute.
Lesson Learnt
Once an arbitral tribunal has been constituted, a party's pending court petition for interim relief can be handed over to the arbitrator himself as a Section 17 application, avoiding the need to run parallel proceedings in court and before the tribunal.