Patna High Court Appoints Justice Mridula Mishra As Arbitrator In Educomp Solutions Vs BSEDC Dispute

The Patna High Court has appointed Justice Mridula Mishra, its former judge, as an independent arbitrator to resolve the ongoing dispute between Educomp Solutions Ltd and Bihar State Electronics Development Corporation Limited..

The dispute dates back to an agreement signed in 2010, involving a three-year contract under the Build, Own, Operate and Transfer framework for the ICT School Project. The project aimed to establish computer labs, hardware networking equipment, system application software, uninterrupted power supply, and training for the ICT Education Project in schools across rural and urban areas in the State of Bihar.

During the hearing, the petitioner cited Article 21 of the Arbitration Agreement and specifically highlighted that when the matter was referred to the Bihar Public Works Contract Disputes Arbitration Tribunal, the respondents objected to the Tribunal's authority to conduct the arbitration, saying the subject matter of the contract was not notified by the State Government under Section 2(k) of the Bihar Public Works Contracts Disputes Arbitration Tribunal Act, 2008.

"The Tribunal hence rejected the claim. The petitioner is hence before this Court seeking appointment of an independent arbitrator," the court.

The counsel appearing for the respondents, however, submitted that in the absence of an arbitration clause, there could be no arbitration carried out at all and the petitioner will have to approach the Civil Court for appropriate remedies.

Chief Justice K. Vinod Chandran observed, “This Court perfectly agrees with the submission of the learned counsel for the respondents that there can be no power conferred on the Tribunal by way of an agreement between the parties. However, it is to be noticed that this is not a case where there was total absence of an arbitration clause.The parties had agreed to an arbitration but however, the same was to be referred to the Arbitration Tribunal; which has now been found to be not competent to arbitrate on the dispute, which finding is based on the subject matter of the contract.”

“In such circumstances, it cannot be said that there is no arbitration clause at all. The arbitration clause has to be given full effect to and in that circumstance, the Act of 1996 applies squarely. The Request Case has to be allowed,” the court added.

Accordingly, with the consent of the parties, the court appointed the independent arbitrator to adjudicate the disputes arising out of agreement entered into between the parties. "Since the dispute arises out of an agreement of the year 2010, the hearing be expedited," said the court.

Case Title: Educomp Solutions Ltd vs. The Bihar State Electronics Development Corporation Limited 

Appearance:

For the Petitioner/s: Mr. Anjani Kumar Jha, Advocate

For the Respondent/s: Mr. Girijish Kumar, Advocate

Click Here To Read/Download Order