Supreme Court - Daily Orders
Dharam Digital Pvt. Ltd vs M/S Comviva Technologies Fz Llc on 18 March, 2025
Author: Sanjay Kumar
Bench: Sanjay Kumar
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION
ARBITRATION PETITION NO. 28/2024
DHARAM DIGITAL PVT. LTD. ..... APPELLANT(S)
VERSUS
M/S COMVIVA TECHNOLOGIES FZ LLC & ..... RESPONDENT(S)
ANR.
O R D E R
This petition, under Sections 2(1)(f), 11(6) and 11(12)(a) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996,1 was filed by Dharam Digital Pvt. Ltd. seeking appointment of a sole Arbitrator.
The arbitration clause relied upon by the petitioner, Dharam Digital Pvt. Ltd., in the Content Procurement and Related Services Agreement dated 20.03.2018, reads as under:
“ xxx xxx xxx Dispute Resolution: All disputes or differences arising out of or in connection with the execution, interpretation and performance of this Agreement, unless settled amicably by the Parties hereto, shall be referred to and exclusively settled by Arbitration in accordance with Indian Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996, by a single Arbitrator and the venue of the arbitration shall be New Delhi, India. The language of arbitration shall be English. The decision of the arbitrators shall be final and binding upon both the parties. The costs of arbitration including the fees and expenses of arbitration shall be borne equally by the parties hereto, provided, however, that each Party shall bear the cost of preparing and presenting its own claims and/or defenses.
xxx xxx xxx” Signature Not Verified Digitally signed by babita pandey Date: 2025.03.24 17:11:43 IST Reason: Respondent No. 2, M/s. Comviva Technologies Ltd., would 1 For short, the “1996 Act”. 1
contend that it is not bound by the aforesaid agreement. This is disputed by the petitioner, Dharam Digital Pvt. Ltd., which relies on clause 11.3 of the agreement.
We are of the opinion that the question as to whether respondent No. 2, M/s. Comviva Technologies Ltd., is a party or a veritable party to the arbitration agreement and would be bound by the terms and conditions of the agreement dated 20.03.2018 may be examined by the learned Arbitrator. The issue of stamping, etc., may also be raised before and examined by the learned Arbitrator.
Recording the aforesaid, the present petition is allowed. Ms. Madhumita Bhattacharjee, learned Advocate of this Court, is appointed as the sole Arbitrator to go into the disputes inter se the parties. The learned Arbitrator shall file her declaration, in terms of Section 12 of the 1996 Act, within a period of three weeks from the date a copy of this order is received by her. She shall be entitled to fees as prescribed for international arbitration as per the Schedule of the Delhi International Arbitration Center.
Pending application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of.
................CJI.
(SANJIV KHANNA) ..................J. (SANJAY KUMAR) ..................J. (K.V. VISWANATHAN) NEW DELHI;
MARCH 18, 2025.
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ITEM NO.16 COURT NO.1 SECTION PIL-W
S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
Petition(s) for Arbitration No. 28/2024
DHARAM DIGITAL PVT. LTD. Petitioner(s)
VERSUS
M/S COMVIVA TECHNOLOGIES FZ LLC & ANR. Respondent(s)
Date : 18-03-2025 This petition was called on for hearing today. CORAM :
HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SANJAY KUMAR HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE K.V. VISWANATHAN For Petitioner(s) Mr. Ujjal Banerjee, AOR For Respondent(s) Mr. Pratyush Sharma, Adv.
Mr. Mayank Kshirsagar, AOR Mr. Parth Sarathi, Adv.
UPON hearing the counsel, the Court made the following O R D E R The petition is allowed in terms of the signed order.
Pending application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of.
(BABITA PANDEY) (R.S. NARAYANAN)
AR-CUM-PS ASSISTANT REGISTRAR
(Signed order is placed on the file) 3