Office for Alternative Architecture Vs Ircon Infrastructure and Services Ltd. (Supreme Court of India)
Summary: The Supreme Court considered whether a court exercising jurisdiction under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 can exclude particular claims from arbitration by holding them to be non-arbitrable or to fall within an excepted category, after finding that an arbitration agreement exists.
The appeal arose from the judgment and order dated September 6, 2023 of the High Court of Delhi at New Delhi. While appointing an arbitral tribunal under Section 11 of the 1996 Act, the High Court had excluded certain claims referred to in paragraphs 48(ii), (iii) and (iv) of the claim petition, treating them as non-arbitrable/excepted matters in view of Clauses 50 and 50.2 of the agreement.
The appellant, Office for Alternative Architecture, contended that once the Court found an arbitration agreement to exist, its enquiry under Section 11 had to remain confined to that question. According to the appellant, whether particular claims fell within an excepted category was a matter for the arbitral tribunal. The appellant therefore sought setting aside of the impugned order to the extent it excluded the specified claims, leaving all such pleas open before the arbitral tribunal.
