In Brief
In this appeal, the Supreme Court clarified the authority of courts in arbitration proceedings under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act. When an applicant seeks appointment of an arbitrator but the respondent denies the validity of the underlying Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the court must itself decide whether the MoU is a genuine document before appointing an arbitrator. The Court held that the question of the arbitration agreement's existence and validity is a jurisdictional matter that cannot be delegated to the arbitrator. The impugned order directing the arbitrator to decide the MoU's legality was set aside and the case remanded to the High Court to decide the validity of the MoU first.
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