In Brief
The Supreme Court held that Section 3-G of the National Highways Act, 1956 exclusively vests the appointment of arbitrators in the Central Government for compensation disputes. Although the Act states that the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 applies 'subject to the provisions of this Act', the phrase 'subject to' means the general arbitration provisions are subordinate to the special provision in Section 3-G. Therefore, Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act does not apply. If the Central Government fails to appoint an arbitrator within a reasonable time, the remedy is a writ petition or suit, not a Section 11 application. The Court set aside the lower judgment and allowed both appeals."
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