SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT, TRANSPORT DEPTT. MADRAS vs MUNUSWAMY MUDALIAR & ORS.

The Supreme Court held that under Section 5 of the Arbitration Act, 1940, a named arbitrator cannot be removed unless there are allegations of dishonesty, incapacity, mala fide, or reasonable apprehensions of bias based on cogent materials. The Court clarified that mere imagination of bias is insufficient for removal. In this case, the apprehension of bias was not reasonable as the parties had agreed to the arbitration clause knowing the Superintending Engineer's subordinate position. The appeal was allowed, and the case was remanded for further proceedings.