01 September 2021 | Laxmi Civil Engineering Services Pvt. Ltd. v. State of Bihar | Request Case No. 17 of 2021 | Sanjay Karol CJ | Patna High Court | 2021 SCC OnLine Pat 1926

The Patna High Court rejected a petition for the appointment of an arbitrator because the pre-arbitral mechanism was not fully followed. The mechanism was: first approach the Engineer-in-Charge who, in turn, if the claims are not acceptable, would forward it to the Superintending Engineer. If the latter failed to give instructions or take a decision in time, an appeal lay to the Chief Engineer.

The court said: “it is only thereafter, right accrues in favour of the petitioner to seek adjudication through the process of arbitration.”

A similar ruling was also made in Sharda Construction v. State of Bihar, 2021 SCC OnLine Pat 2095.

Read the decision here.