AKASH KATYAL & ANR. vs PHYSICSWALLAH LTD & ANR.

Judgment text excerpt

$~46 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI Date of decision: 13.05.2026 + ARB.P. 674/2026 AKASH KATYAL & ANR. .....Petitioners Through: Mr. Prabhjit Jauhar, Ms. Shreya Narayan, Ms. Shreyangana Bag & Ms. Misha Thakur, Advs. versus PHYSICSWALLAH LTD & ANR. .....Respondents Through: Mr. Shashwat Mukherjee & Mr. Aditya Maheshwari, Advs. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE HARISH VAIDYANATHAN SHANKAR % JUDGMENT (ORAL) 1. The present Petition has been filed under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 [“Act”] seeking reference of the disputes to arbitration by appointment of a Sole Arbitrator in terms of the Lease Deed dated 22.02.2023 [“Lease Deed”], particularly Clause 26 thereof. The relevant clause of the Lease Deed is reproduced hereinbelow: “26. That in case of any dispute, both parties shall be approaching a mutually agreed arbitrator for resolving the problem. If the dispute continues further then the parties can move to Delhi jurisdiction.” 2. The material on record reflects that the statutory requirement under Section 21 of the Act stands duly complied with by issuance of Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed ARB.P. 674/2026 Page 1 of 8 By:HARVINDER KAUR BHATIA Signing Date:14.05.2026 17:16:10 Notice dated 23.01.2026 by the Petitioner. 3. Mr. Shashwat Mukherjee, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the Respondents, enters appearance and raises a preliminary objection to the maintainability of the present Petition on the ground that the Clause 26 of the said Lease Deed does not constitute a valid and enforceable Arbitration Agreement within the meaning of Section 7 of the Act. 4. It is submitted on behalf of the Respondents that the aforesaid clause fails to unequivocally evince a consensus ad idem as between the parties for mandatory reference of