Great Offshore Ltd vs Iranian Offshore Eng&Constn.; Co

The Supreme Court addressed a petition under Section 11(5), (6), (9), and (12) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, concerning the appointment of an arbitrator for a dispute arising from a charter party agreement between Great Offshore Limited and Iranian Offshore Engineering & Construction Company. The Court held that the existence of a valid contract with an arbitration clause must be established before appointing an arbitrator, emphasizing that mere negotiations do not suffice to constitute a binding agreement. The outcome was that the Court required further examination of the correspondence to determine if a concluded contract existed, thus deferring the appointment of an arbitrator.