M/S THEME ENGINEERING SERVICES PVT. LTD. vs NATIONAL HIGHWAYS AUTHORITY OF INDIA

Judgment text excerpt

* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI Date of decision: 13th JANUARY, 2026 IN THE MATTER OF: + ARB.P. 1897/2025 M/S THEME ENGINEERING SERVICES PVT. LTD. .....Petitioner Through: Ms. Nandadevi Deka, Mr. Arunabha Ganguli, Mr. Shashwat Pratyush, Ms. Shubhra Sharma and Mr.Sourav Sharma, Advs. versus NATIONAL HIGHWAYS AUTHORITY OF INDIA .....Respondent Through: Mr. Santosh Kumar, SC with Mr. Ritik Dwivedi, Mr. Adithya Ramani and Mr. Devansh Malhotra, Advs. for R-1. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SUBRAMONIUM PRASAD JUDGMENT 1. This Petition has been filed under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 seeking appointment of an Arbitrator to adjudicate upon the disputes which have arisen between the parties under the Consultancy Contract Agreement dated 24.09.2019. 2. It is stated that under the said Agreement, the Petitioner herein was to provide Supervision Consultancy Services for construction supervision of Balance work of 4-laning of Ranchi-Rargaon-Mahulia section from KM 114.000 to km 277.500 of NH-33 in the State of Jharkhand. It is stated that disputes arose between the parties and the Respondent issued Order dated 17.12.2020 debarring the Petitioner for a period of two years. It is stated that Signature Not Verified Signed By:HARIOM ARB.P. 1897/2025 Page 1 of 10 SINGH KIRMOLIYA Signing Date:16.01.2026 17:39:31 the debarment Order was challenged by the Petitioner herein by filing W.P.(C) 1173/2021 before this Court. It is stated that this Court vide Order dated 23.05.2023 quashed the debarment Order. The said Order was challenged by the Respondent by filing SLP (C) No. 4741/2021, before the Apex Court. The said SLP was dismissed by the Apex Court vide Order dated 24.03.2021. 3. It is pertinent to mention that the General Conditions of Contract (GCC)