In Brief
Nirmal Software Services entered into an MOU with Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University for web-enabling services, which included an arbitration clause. When the University delayed payment under a related purchase order, the company filed a writ petition seeking mandamus. The High Court dismissed it, noting the arbitration clause must be exhausted first. The Supreme Court upheld this principle and, with the parties' consent, appointed a retired Bombay High Court judge as sole arbitrator to resolve the dispute within 12 months, subject to statutory declarations of independence and impartiality.
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