MSA NEDERLAND B.V. vs M/S. LARSEN & TOUBRO LTD.

The Supreme Court, while adjudicating an application under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, held that the appointment of a sole arbitrator does not necessitate the arbitrator to have a nationality different from that of the parties involved, as the term 'may' in Section 11(9) indicates discretion rather than a mandate. The Court referred to precedents including Malaysian Airlines Systems BHD v. STIC Travels (P) Ltd. and Grid Corpn. Of Orissa Ltd. v. AES Corpn. to establish that the provision is not mandatory. Consequently, the Court appointed Mr. Justice S.N. Variava as the sole arbitrator, disregarding the nationality stipulation.