The division judge bench of Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Alok Kumar Verma of the Uttarakhand High Court held that the process of conciliation is voluntary, and cannot be thrust upon either of the parties, and either, or both the parties, may decide not to proceed with conciliation.
Brief Facts:
The factual matrix of the case is that the Petitioner came into contract with the Respondent and the respondents terminated the said contract on the ground of defaults committed by the Petitioner. Thereafter, the respondent issued a fresh tender process for the execution of the balance work. Then, the Petitioner invoked clause 26 of the agreement which provides for the conciliation and the Petitioner alleged that he can’t invoke the arbitration clause until and unless conciliation takes place.
Observations of the court:
The Hon’ble Court interpreted both clauses and observed that It is possible that there won't be a meeting after one of the parties adopted the conciliation process. The parties may choose not to proceed with conciliation at any time because it is a voluntary process and cannot be forced upon either of them. The arbitration agreement between the parties, however, cannot be broken. It is possible for the petitioner to use the arbitration agreement given that the petitioner asserts to have used the conciliation mechanism, and no meeting has been scheduled in the following 30 (thirty) business days.
It was furthermore observed that the petitioner's right to go with the arbitration agreement is not restricted only because no conciliation took place.
Based on these considerations, the court was unable to find any merit in the present petition.
The decision of the court:
With the above direction, the court dismissed the writ petition.
Case Title: Maa Bhagwati Construction Company Vs Chief Engineer, level I, N. H., P.W.D & another
Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Vipin Sanghi and Hon’ble Mr. Justice Alok Kumar Verma
Case No.: WRIT PETITION (M/B) NO. 225 OF 2023
Advocate for the Petitioner: Mr. Sagar Kothari, learned counsel
Advocate for the Respondent: Mr. Amarendra Pratap Singh, learned Additional Advocate General for the State
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