In Brief
In this arbitration petition under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996, the petitioner sought appointment of an arbitrator to resolve disputes under an alleged agreement dated 1 August 2013. The respondent challenged the petition, producing evidence that the respondent's passport signature did not match signatures on the agreement and that contemporaneous emails indicated the agreement had not been executed on the claimed date. The Supreme Court held that while arbitrators may ordinarily inquire into fraud allegations, an ex facie case of forgery visible from the face of the petition must be dismissed at the threshold without arbitrator appointment. The Court dismissed the petition with costs and referred the matter to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate for criminal investigation.
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