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06 December 2021 | Cravants Media Private Limited v. Jharkhand State Co-operative Milk Producers Federation Ltd.| Arb. P. 915 of 2021 | Vibhu Bakhru J | Delhi High Court | 2021 SCC OnLine Del 5350
Article 16 of the parties contract was entitled “Dispute Resolution and Governing Law”. Article 16..2 stated that the “venue of arbitration shall be Ranchi”. Article 16.5 said that “any disputes arising out of this Agreement shall be subject to the sole and exclusive jurisdiction of courts of Delhi”.
The question was if the Delhi High Court was the seat-court and had the jurisdiction to appoint an arbitrator? The court answered yes, and said that Ranchi was only the convenient venue. It read both clauses together and noted that Clause 16.2 uses the term “venue” and not “place”.
It rejected the argument that the exclusive jurisdiction clause was restricted to civil proceedings other than arbitration. The placement of that clause in the section relating to dispute resolution, the court reasoned, indicated a contrary intention.
Read the judgment here.