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Telangana High Court
M/S. Vishwa Samudra Engineering ... vs M//S. Bhartia Infra Projects Limited on 2 April, 2026
IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA
AT HYDERABAD
THE HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE SRI APARESH KUMAR SINGH
ARBITRATION APPLICATION No.101 of 2025
DATED: 02.04.2026
Between:
M/s. Vishwa Samudra Engineering Private Limited,
having its Office at 8th and 9th Floor, Vamsiram Jyothi Valencia,
Road No.2, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad.
Rep. by its Authorized Representative
Mr. Hanmesh Gunnam, S/o. Rama Krishna G.,
Aged about 31 years,
Occ: Vice President - MD Office,
R/o. Hyderabad.
... Applicant
AND
M/s. Bhartia Infra Projects Limited,
201 Royal Arcade, Dr. B.Baruah Road,
Ulubari, Guwhati - 781007,
Rep. by its Managing Director.
... Respondent
ORDER:
Heard Mr. M.Naga Deepak, learned counsel appearing for the applicant.
2. By order dated 27.02.2026, this Court proposed to appoint
Sri Justice S.Ravi Kumar, a former Judge of erstwhile High Court of Andhra
Pradesh, as an independent Arbitrator to adjudicate the dispute between the
parties. The order dated 27.02.2026 is extracted hereunder for easy reference:
"Mr. M. Naga Deepak, learned counsel appears for applicant.
Ms. Khushi Sharma, learned counsel appears for respondent, virtually.
The dispute in the present Arbitration Application is not on the arbitrability of the
dispute which admittedly exists between the parties but on the jurisdiction of this Court or
Gauhati High Court for invocation of the provisions under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration
and Conciliation Act, 1996 (for short 'the Act'). The agreement is dated 17.12.2022. It
provides for execution of work of "Stabilization of Lalpul- Manmao- Changlang Road
NH-215 on EPC Mode in the State of Arunachal Pradesh with Stabilization technology
using Cement and "StabilRoad" Additive". The arbitration clause reads as under:
"5. ARBITRATION:
Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or relating to or in connection
with this Agreement, or the breach, termination or validity hereof shall be finally
settled by arbitration in accordance with the Indian Arbitration & Conciliation Act,
1996 or any statutory modification therein. Any dispute shall be settled by
arbitration presided by a sole arbitrator. The sole arbitrator shall be an independent
person and shall be mutually appointed by the Parties. The Seat and Venue of the
arbitration shall be Hyderabad, Telangana state or Guwahati, Assam state, and the
language used in the arbitral proceedings shall be English.
This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of Republic of India and
courts in Hyderabad shall have exclusive jurisdiction over matters relating to or
arising from this agreement."
The applicant issued a notice to the respondent invoking arbitration clause on
08.05.2025. The respondent has submitted its reply on 23.05.2025 contending that the
Seat and Venue of the arbitration must be Gauhati, Assam, as all works were executed in
Arunachal Pradesh (within jurisdiction of Gauhati). It is the case of the respondent that no
reply thereto was sent.
The respondent has filed a counter affidavit.
Learned counsel for the respondent has objected to invocation of jurisdiction of
this Court on the ground that the applicant without sending any reply to the notice
invoking arbitration clause by the respondent has approached this Court. Whereas, the
respondent had in its notice confined the jurisdiction for invocation of the arbitration
clause at Gauhati.
The present Arbitration Application was filed on 17.06.2025 after expiry of the
thirty (30) days period. The application for appointment of an arbitrator under the same
clause under Section 11(6) of the Act was filed by the respondent on 25.06.2025 before
Gauhati High Court. Therefore, the present Arbitration Application was prior in point of
time.
Rival submissions have been made on the issue of jurisdiction of this Court to
appoint an arbitrator in terms of clause 5 of the Agreement under Section 11(6) of the Act.
A plain reading of the first part of arbitration clause shows that the Seat and Venue
of the arbitration shall be at Hyderabad, Telangana State or Gauhati, Assam State. The
second part thereof shows that the Courts in Hyderabad shall have exclusive jurisdiction
over matters relating to or arising from the Agreement. The first part of the arbitration
clause is not exclusionary and creates an impression that the jurisdiction of either of the
Courts can be invoked but the second part of it is in the nature of an exclusionary clause.
Leaving aside that apparent difference in the two parts of the arbitration clause, if the first
part is taken into consideration, the invocation of the arbitration clause having been done
prior in point of time vide notice dated 08.05.2025 and after completion of the period of
notice by filing this application on 17.06.2025 vis-à-vis the notice dated 23.05.2025 sent
in reply by the respondent for invocation of the arbitration clause and the filing of
application for appointment of an arbitrator subsequent thereto by the respondent on
25.06.2025, this Court is of the view that the prayer of the applicant cannot be denied on
the ground of lack of jurisdiction of this Court for appointment of an arbitrator.
I therefore propose to appoint Sri Justice S. Ravi Kumar, a former Judge of
erstwhile High Court of Andhra Pradesh, (Resident of Villa No.16, Keerthi Richmond
Villas, Sun City, Near Glendale International Academy, Bandlaguda, Hyderabad -
500086. Mobile No. 9494847722), as sole arbitrator to adjudicate the dispute between the
parties. The proposed Arbitrator is requested to submit his consent and a declaration in
terms of Section 12(1) of the Act read with Schedule VI of the Act.
Registry is directed to communicate this order to the proposed Arbitrator.
The matter be listed after three (3) weeks with the response, if any, of the proposed
Arbitrator."
3. The proposed Arbitrator has submitted his consent along with a
declaration under Section 12(1) read with Schedule VI of the Arbitration and
Conciliation Act, 1996 (for short, 'the Act') by letter dated 16.03.2026.
4. Learned counsel for the applicant, therefore, submits that appointment of
the proposed Arbitrator may be confirmed.
5. In that view of the matter, I hereby appoint Sri Justice S.Ravi Kumar, a
former Judge of erstwhile High Court of Andhra Pradesh, (Resident of Villa
No.16, Keerthi Richmond Villas, Sun City, Near Glendale International
Academy, Bandlaguda, Hyderabad - 500086; Mobile No. 9494847722), to act
as an independent Arbitrator in respect of the dispute between the parties.
6. Registry is directed to serve a xerox copy of the entire pleadings to the
learned Arbitrator. The learned Arbitrator is requested to keep in mind the fee
prescribed in Schedule IV of the Act and the time limit prescribed under
Section 29A of the Act.
7. The Arbitration Application is, accordingly, disposed of.
Miscellaneous applications pending, if any, shall stand closed.
__________________________________
APARESH KUMAR SINGH, CJ
Date: 02.04.2026
KL
