Sushma v. M/S Muthoot Finance Ltd. & Ors.

1. The present petition has been filed under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act seeking appointment of a sole Arbitrator for resolution of disputes arising out of a Gold Loan Agreement dated 23.07.2020 executed between the parties in terms of Clause 6 of the said Agreement.

2. Accordingly, notice was issued to the Respondents on multiple occasions vide orders dated 01.07.2025, 15.09.2025, 19.11.2025, and 28.01.2026. Thereafter, on 20.05.2026, this Court granted one last indulgence to the Petitioner to serve the Respondents.

3. On perusal of the record, it appears that Respondent No. 3 (M/s Muthoot Finance Ltd., Green Park Branch) was duly served.

4. Since all Respondents are various Branches of M/s Muthoot Finance Ltd., namely, Registered Office at Ernakulum, Kerala, Branch Office at Hauz Khas, New Delhi and Branch Office at Green Park, New Delhi, and that the loan was executed by the New Delhi branches, this Court is of the considered view that notice has been duly served.

5. No one has entered appearance on behalf of the Respondents despite sufficient service.

6. It is well settled that, while exercising jurisdiction under Section 11 of the Act, the scope of enquiry is confined to examining the prima facie existence of an arbitration agreement[1].

7. Therefore, I find no impediment in appointing a Sole Arbitrator since there exists a valid arbitration clause between the parties.

8. The claimed amount is stated to be Rs. 2,27,504/-.

9. Accordingly, Mr. Somansh Sharma, Advocate (8527388063) is appointed as the learned Sole Arbitrator to adjudicate the disputes that have arisen between the parties herein. The learned Sole Arbitrator shall enter upon the reference within three weeks from today.

10. The learned Sole Arbitrator will proceed to the arbitration proceedings subject to furnishing requisite disclosures as required SBI General Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Krish Spinning 2024 SCC OnLine SC 1754 under Section 12(2) of the Act within two weeks of entering reference.

11. The learned Sole Arbitrator shall be entitled to fees in accordance with the Fourth Schedule of the Act or such other fee as may be mutually agreed upon between the parties and the learned Sole Arbitrator.

12. The parties shall share the learned Arbitrator’s fee and arbitral cost equally.

13. It shall be open to the parties to raise all pleas, including objection as to arbitrability and jurisdiction, before the learned Sole Arbitrator who shall decide the same in accordance with law.

14. Needless to state that the observations made herein are only for the purpose of deciding the present petition under Section 11(6) of the Act. The learned Sole Arbitrator shall adjudicate the disputes independently and on their own merits, uninfluenced by any observations contained in the present order.

15. The Registry is directed to send a receipt of this order to Mr. Somansh Sharma, learned Arbitrator through all permissible modes including email.