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M/S Lakeshwari Builders Pvt. Ltd. vs. M/S Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd.

Original Miscellaneous Petition (Termination) · 2026:DHC:7973Decided 2 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
O.M.P.(T) 3/2026CNR: DLHC010289542026
Justice Om Prakash Shukla

Background

A commercial dispute between the parties had been in arbitration since 2013, based on agreements from 2010-2011. The original sole arbitrator, who had presided over the case up to the stage of final arguments, passed away in September 2025. A retired district judge subsequently appointed to replace him then also withdrew due to advanced age and medical reasons, leaving the years-long arbitration without an arbitrator.

Decision Breakdown

With the respondent raising no objection, the Court exercised its power under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act to appoint a new sole arbitrator, a retired Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, to take over the case from where it had been left, subject to the standard disclosure requirements and to be conducted under the rules of the Delhi International Arbitration Centre. All pleas on arbitrability and jurisdiction remained open for the parties to raise before the new arbitrator.

Lesson Learnt

Arbitration proceedings do not collapse if an arbitrator dies or becomes unable to continue: courts can and do step in to appoint a substitute so that a long-pending dispute is not indefinitely stalled by circumstances beyond the parties' control.

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