$~7 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + ARB.P. 609/2026 MS RAJINDER INFRASTRUCTURE PRIVATE LIMITED .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Raghav Raj Malani, Adv. versus NATIONAL HIGHWAYS AND INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION LIMITED .....Respondent Through: Mr. Deepak Thukral & Ms. Shivani Chowdhary, Advs. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AVNEESH JHINGAN O R D E R % 21.07.2026 1. This petition is filed under Section 11(4)(b) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 seeking appointment of a presiding arbitrator. 2. The brief facts are that the petitioner was awarded the work of rehabilitation and upgradation of Dergaon Town to four-laning from Km. 426.800 to Km. 437.400 on NH-37 in the State of Assam by the respondent vide Letter of Award dated 19.03.2020. The parties entered into a Contract Agreement (for short „CA‟) dated 30.05.2020. Disputes arose between the parties, the petitioner invoked arbitration under clause 26.3(i) of the CA and appointed its nominee arbitrator. The respondent also appointed its nominee arbitrator but the nominee arbitrators failed to appoint the presiding arbitrator within the prescribed period. Hence, the present petition. 3. Clause 26.3 is reproduced below: “i. Any dispute which remains unresolved between the parties through the mechanisms available/prescribed in This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 23/07/2026 at 11:36:06 the Agreement, irrespective of any claim value, which has not been agreed upon/reached settlement by the parties, will be referred to the Arbitral Tribunal as per the Arbitration and Conciliation Act. ii. Deleted iii. The Arbitral Tribunal shall make a reasoned award (the "Award''). Any Award made in any arbitration held pursuant to this Article 26 shall be final and binding on the Parties as from the date it is made, and the Contract and the Authority agree and undertake to carry out such Award without delay. iv. The Contractor and the Authority agree that an Award may be enforced against the Contractor and/or the Authority, as the case may be, and their respective assets wherever situated. v. This Agreement and the rights and obligations of the Parties shall remain in full force and effect, pending the Award in any arbitration proceedings hereunder. Further, the parties unconditionally acknowledge and agree that notwithstanding any dispute between them, each party shall proceed with the performance of its respective obligations, pending resolution of Dispute in accordance with this Article. vi. In the event the Party against whom the Award has been granted challenges the Award for any reason in a court of law, it shall make an interim payment to the other party for an amount equal to 75% (seventy-five per cent) of the Award, pending final settlement of the Dispute. The aforesaid amount shall be paid forthwith upon furnishing an irrevocable Bank Guarantee for a sum equal to 120% ( one hundred and twenty per cent) of the aforesaid amount. Upon final settlement of the Dispute, the aforesaid interim payment shall be adjusted and any balance amount due to be paid or returned, as the case may be, shall be paid or returned with the interest calculated at the rate of 10% (ten per cent) per annum This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 23/07/2026 at 11:36:06 from the date of interim payment to the date of final settlement of such balance.” 4. Learned counsel for both the parties are ad idem that one nominee arbitrator each has been appointed by the parties but the two nominees have failed to appoint the presiding arbitrator within the prescribed period. 5. ⁠It is jointly requested that considering the nature of the dispute, the nominee arbitrators already appointed namely, Mr. Anil Kumar, Retd. Chief Engineer, U.P. PWD and Mr. Anup Wadhwan, Former Secretary, Ministry of Commerce may continue and a retired Judge of this court be appointed as the presiding arbitrator. 6. Accordingly, the petition is allowed by appointing Ms. Asha Menon, High Court Judge, (Retd.) (Mobile No.: 9910384664) as the presiding arbitrator for adjudication of the disputes which have arisen between the parties. 7. The fees of the learned Arbitrator will be governed by Schedule IV of the Act. Before entering upon reference, the learned Arbitrator will comply with Section 12 of the Act. 8. It is made clear that since this Court has not expressed any opinion on the merits of the rival claims of the parties, it will be open for the parties to file their respective claims/counter claims before the learned Arbitrator which will be considered in accordance with law. 9. A copy of this order be forwarded to the learned Arbitrator for information. AVNEESH JHINGAN, J JULY 21, 2026/‘JK’ This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 23/07/2026 at 11:36:06