VEDANTA LIMITED vs GUJARAT STATE PETROLEUM CORPORATION LTD.

Judgment text excerpt

* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI Date of decision: 28th JULY, 2025 IN THE MATTER OF: + ARB.P. 853/2023 & I.A. 20643/2023 VEDANTA LIMITED .....Petitioner Through: Mr Jayant Mehta, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Sulabh Rewari, Ms. Vasudha Sharma, Ms. Tina Aneja and Mr. Shubhansh Thakur, Advs. versus GUJARAT STATE PETROLEUM CORPORATION LTD. .....Respondent Through: Mr. Ramji Srinivasan, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Piyush Joshi, Ms. Sumiti Yadava, Ms. Meghna Sengupta, Ms. Vatsla Bhatia and Mr. Yagya Sharma, Advs. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SUBRAMONIUM PRASAD JUDGMENT 1. The present petition under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 has been filed by the Petitioner seeking appointment of the Respondent's nominee Arbitrator to adjudicate upon the disputes that have arisen between the Petitioner and the Respondent in relation to the Request for Proposal bearing No.RFP/RJ-ON-90/1/2023/1 dated 28.12.2022 ("RFP") and the Gas Sales Agreement ("GSA"). 2. Shorn of unnecessary details, the facts leading to filing of the present petition are as follows: Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed By:SHAZAAD ZAKIR ARB.P. 853/2023 Page 1 of 43 Signing Date:29.07.2025 13:41:22 a) It is stated that an Oil & Gas Block in Barmer, Rajasthan i.e., RJ-ON- 90/1 Block ("Gas Block"), was awarded by the Government of India to a Joint Venture comprising of various entities namely Cairn Energy Hydrocarbons Limited and, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited and the Petitioner herein (collectively referred to as Contractors). b) Thereafter, the Government of India entered into a Production Sharing Contract ("PSC") with the Joint Venture for the Oil & Gas Block. It is stated that the Petitioner is the Operator of the Gas Block and is authorised to act on behalf of the Joint Venture. c)