Delhi High Court in Kotak Mahindra Prime Ltd. v. Manav Sethi & Anr. 2024:DHC:5255 held that a petition u/s 11(6) of Arbitration & Conciliation Act for appointment of arbitrator is not maintainable if no statutory notice under Section 21 of the 1996 Act has been issued by the petitioner to the respondent.
Section 21 of the 1996 Act specifically envisages commencement of arbitral proceedings from the date on which a notice under Section 21 is issued by one party to the other, unless the parties agree otherwise.
Section 21 envisages the notice as being one of request by one party to the other, requesting the other party to refer the disputes to arbitration.
This issue is not res integra. BSNL v. Nortel Networks (India) Private Limited (2021) 5 SCC 738 elucidates the principle in clear and unmistakable terms:
“An application under Section 11 can be filed only after a notice of arbitration in respect of the particular claim(s)/dispute(s) to be
referred to arbitration [as contemplated by Section 21 of the Act] is made, and there is failure to make the appointment.”