In Brief
Kores (India) Ltd sought to appoint an arbitrator under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, relying on an alleged agreement dated 1 August 2013 with Arnav International Pvt. Ltd. The respondent challenged the petition, producing his passport showing a signature completely different from those on every page of the agreement, and an email dated 31 October 2013 in which he requested the agreement be sent—proving no agreement existed then. The petitioner later claimed the agreement was actually signed in October/November 2013 with retroactive effect. The Supreme Court found this an ex facie case of forgery and dismissed the petition at the threshold, declining to appoint an arbitrator, and referred the matter to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate for investigation. Costs of ₹1 lakh were imposed on the petitioner.
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