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Ralhan Construction Private Limited vs. Union of India & Anr.

Arbitration Petition · 2026:DHC:8904Decided 6 Oct 2026New Delhi Bench
ARB.P. 824/2026CNR: DLHC010198352026
Justice Om Prakash Shukla

Background

The petitioner sought appointment of an arbitrator for disputes under a 2020 Agreement executed with the Union of India through Respondent No.2 (the National Disaster Response Force). Respondent No.1 (NDRF) raised a preliminary objection that no prima facie arbitration agreement existed between it and the petitioner, citing a separate 2019 MoU.

Decision Breakdown

The Court noted its Section 11 scrutiny is confined to checking the prima facie existence of an arbitration agreement; it granted the petitioner liberty to implead Respondent No.1 before the arbitrator, and since there was no dispute regarding the arbitration agreement with Respondent No.2, appointed Mr. Amish Tandon as sole arbitrator under DIAC rules.

Lesson Learnt

At the arbitrator-appointment stage, courts only verify the prima facie existence of an arbitration agreement; deeper disputes, including over who is actually bound, are left to the arbitrator to decide.

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