ARUN MEHROTRA AND ANR vs KISHAN LAL

Judgment text excerpt

$~ * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI % Judgment reserved on: 13.01.2026 Judgment pronounced on: 27.01.2026 Judgment uploaded on: 27.01.2026 + FAO(COMM.) 123/2023 ARUN MEHROTRA .....Appellant Through: Mr. Tushar Mahajan, Mr. Bhaavan Mahajan and Mr. Tanmay S. Surana, Advs. versus KISHAN LAL .....Respondent Through: Mr. Mayank Khurana, Adv. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ANIL KSHETARPAL HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AMIT MAHAJAN JUDGMENT ANIL KSHETARPAL, J. 1. Through the present Appeal under Section 37(1)(c) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 19961, the Appellant (Petitioner before the learned District Judge) assails the correctness of the Judgment and Order dated 27.03.2023 [hereinafter referred to as „Impugned Order‟], whereby the learned District Judge dismissed the petition filed by the Appellant under Section 342 of the A&C Act, on the ground of lack of territorial jurisdiction without looking into the merits of the matter of the Award dated 02.11.2018 [hereinafter referred to as „the Award‟] passed by the learned Arbitrator. 1 A&C Act 2 Section 34 Signature Not Verified Signed By:JAI NARAYAN Signing Date:27.01.2026FAO(COMM.) 123/2023 Page 1 of 11 15:00:34 2. Herein, the Appellant contends that the learned District Judge, after completion of the pleadings and after discussing the merits of the contentions raised by the Appellant, dismissed the Section 34 petition on the sole ground of jurisdiction. The learned District Judge held that the arbitration proceedings were conducted under the aegis of Delhi International Arbitration Centre [hereinafter referred to as „DIAC‟] at DIAC, New Delhi, and 5, Siri Fort, New Delhi, and thus this place of arbitration does not fall within the jurisdiction of the District Court, Dwarka, Delhi [hereinafter referred to as „Dwarka Courts