In Brief
The State of Haryana challenged the Indian Council of Arbitration's unilateral appointment of an arbitrator after objections were raised to the State's nominee (a retired engineer) on grounds of bias due to his former employment. The Supreme Court held that Section 15(2) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act requires substitute arbitrators to be appointed according to the original appointment procedure. The Court ruled that a former employee separated over 10 years is not disqualified from being an arbitrator absent justifiable doubts of bias. The High Court's judgment was set aside and both parties agreed to appoint a sole arbitrator instead.
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