IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY ORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION APPLICATION NO.207 OF 2026 D.Y. Patil International School .. Applicant Vs. Ms. Payal Arvind Popat .. Respondent A.P. Steenson a/w Utkarsh Sanadi, Pranchali Kandre, Kashmira Dingankar i/by APS Law Associates, for Applicant. Jitendra Ranawat i/b Mr. Sudhakar Lakhani for Respondent. CORAM : ARUN R. PEDNEKER, J. DATE : 25th JUNE 2026. P.C. : 1. Heard. 2. Learned counsel appearing for the Applicant submits that the Applicant appointed the Respondents to serve in its institution. The Service Agreement dated 6th July 2022 contains an arbitration clause. The said arbitration clause, appearing at page 40 of the Service Agreement, is reproduced below: 21. ARBITRATION :- “(1) If a dispute arises between the Parties, either Party may serve written notice on the other commencing a formal consultation period of [fifteen (15)] days within which the dispute should be resolved (the "Consultation Period"). 1/6 1 CARAP 207.2026.doc Dusane (ii) In case an amicable settlement cannot be reached during the Consultation Period, the dispute shall be finally settled as per the provisions of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 each Party appointing one arbitrator. The award shall be in writing, and shall specify the reasons for and the facts on which such decision was reached. The award shall be final and binding on the Parties. The Parties hereby waive their right to any form of appeal insofar as such waiver can validly be made. (iii) The place of arbitration shall be Pune. The arbitration proceedings shall be in the English language. (iv) During the period of submission of arbitration and thereafter until the granting of the award, the Parties shall continue to perform all their obligations under this Agreement without prejudice to a final adjustment in accordance with such award. The cost of the Arbitration will be borne by the losing party. (v) None of the Parties may disclose the existence, content or results of any arbitration hereunder without the prior written consent of each of the other.” 3. It is submitted that the agreement mandatorily required the issuance of a three-month prior notice. However, the Respondent failed to comply with this requirement. Consequently, disputes arose between the parties. Accordingly, the Applicant invoked the arbitration clause by issuing a notice dated 9 January 2026 to the Respondent, a copy of which is annexed at page 47. Since the said notice could not be served at the Respondent's given address, the present application under Section 11(c) has been filed seeking the appointment of an Arbitrator. 2/6 1 CARAP 207.2026.doc Dusane 4. The notice was issued by this Court, and the Respondent has entered appearance. 5. The Respondent has primarily resisted the application on two grounds. Firstly, it is contended that the agreement was not signed by the parties. Secondly, it is submitted that the notice under Section 21 was not served upon the Respondent. 6. The agreement has been produced on record and is placed at page 32 of the application. A copy of the agreement, which is in the nature of an Appointment-cum-Service Agreement, was admittedly received by the Respondent. The endorsement on the document shows that it was received on 16th July 2022. Thereafter, the Respondent accepted employment under the said Appointment-cum-Service Agreement and continued to work thereunder for nearly four years without any demur or objection. The conduct of the Respondent clearly demonstrates acceptance of the terms and conditions contained in the Appointment-cum-Service Agreement. 7. Prima facie, this Court is satisfied that a valid agreement exists between the parties and that the agreement contains an arbitration clause for the resolution of disputes. Insofar as the notice under Section 21 is concerned, the same was duly served at the address provided in the agreement. 3/6 1 CARAP 207.2026.doc Dusane 8. The tracking ID indicates that the notice was not claimed. Prima facie, there has been a valid invocation of the arbitration clause. Having regard to the arbitration agreement and its invocation, this Court is inclined to appoint an Arbitrator, leaving all rival contentions of the parties open to be adjudicated by the learned Arbitrator. 9. Having considered the material, this Court would pass the following order :- (A) Ms. Yogita Deshmukh-Chitnis, learned Advocate of this Court is appointed as the sole Arbitrator to adjudicate upon the disputes and differences between the parties arising out of and in connection with the Agreement referred to above. The contact details of the Arbitrator are as under :- Address : Flat No.1, D-3A, Wing, Gangagiri Krupa Building, Sahyadri Nagar, Kandivli (West), Mumbai – 400 067. Mobile No. : 9702044133 Email ID : yogitadeshmukhoffice@gmail.com (B) A copy of this order be communicated to the learned sole Arbitrator by the Advocates for the Applicant within a period of 1 week from the date of uploading of this order. The Applicant shall provide the contact and communication particulars of the parties to the Arbitral Tribunal along with a 4/6 1 CARAP 207.2026.doc Dusane copy of this order. (C) Seat of the arbitration would be governed by the provisions of the agreement executed between the parties. (D) Learned sole Arbitrator is requested to forward the statutory Statement of Disclosure under Section 11(8) read with Section 12(1) of the Act to the Advocates for the Applicant so as to enable them to file the same in the Registry of this Court. The Registry of this Court shall retain the said Statement on the file of this Application and a copy of the same shall be furnished by the Advocates for the Applicant to the Respondent. (E) The parties shall appear before the learned sole Arbitrator on such date and at such place as indicated by her, to obtain appropriate direction with regard to conduct of the arbitration including fixing a schedule for pleadings, examination of witnesses, if any, schedule of hearings etc. At such meeting, the parties shall provide a valid and functional email address along with mobile and landline numbers, if any, of the respective Advocates of the parties to the Arbitral Tribunal. Communications to such email addresses shall constitute valid service of correspondence in connection with the arbitration. (F) All arbitral costs and fees of the Arbitral Tribunal shall be borne by the parties equally in the first instance and shall be subject to any final 5/6 1 CARAP 207.2026.doc Dusane Award that may be passed by the Tribunal in relation to costs. 10. All contentions of the parties are expressly kept open to be raised before the Arbitrator. 11. With the above directions, Arbitration Application stands disposed of accordingly. (ARUN R. PEDNEKER, J.) 6/6 1 CARAP 207.2026.doc Dusane