In Brief
Perkins Eastman Architects sought appointment of an arbitrator under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, after HSCC (India) Limited appointed an arbitrator contrary to the contract's dispute resolution clause. The Supreme Court held the arbitration was 'international commercial' because the lead consortium member was a foreign entity. The Court ruled that allowing an interested party to appoint a sole arbitrator violates independence and impartiality principles mandated by the 2015 Amendment Act, following TRF Limited v. Energo Engineering. Accordingly, the Court annulled HSCC's appointment and appointed Dr. Justice A.K. Sikri as the independent sole arbitrator for all three related disputes (Guntur, Kalyani, and Nagpur AIIMS projects).
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