The Delhi High Court on April 03, 2022 in the matter of Sacheerome Advanced Technologies (SAT) versus NEC Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (NECI) ruled that Section 14 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 does not provide a separate remedy to the parties to challenge the appointment of an arbitrator, notwithstanding the provisions under Section 13 of the Act.

In the instant case, The Petitioner Sacheerome Advanced Technologies, after invoking Arbitration Agreement against the Respondent NEC Technologies Pvt Ltd, filed a petition under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (“the Act”) seeking appointment of an Arbitrator. After the Sole Arbitrator appointed by the Court expired, the Court appointed a new Arbitrator. Thereafter, the Petitioner filed an application before the Arbitrator under Section 15 read with Section 14(1) (a) of the Act, seeking termination of her mandate, which was rejected by the Arbitrator. The Petitioner, thereafter, filed a petition under Section 14 (2) of the Act before the Delhi High Court, requesting the mandate of the Arbitrator be terminated on the ground that the Arbitrator did not make a complete disclosure as required under Section 12(1) of the Act at the time of accepting her appointment.

The Single Bench held that a party can challenge the appointment of an arbitrator only according to the procedure set out in Section 13 of the Act and that a petition under Section 14(1) could not be filed to challenge the appointment of an Arbitral Tribunal on the grounds mentioned under Section 12(3) of the Act, i.e., on the ground of justifiable doubts as to the independence or impartiality of the Arbitrator.

The Court noted that the Petitioner did not make any application challenging the appointment of the Arbitrator under Section 13 of the Act and the challenge made by the Petitioner to the appointment of the Arbitrator was rejected by the Arbitrator. The Court held that the only recourse available to the Petitioner was to proceed with the arbitral proceedings and challenge the arbitral award under Section 34 of the Act.