- (1.) This is a petition for the appointment of an arbitrator.
(2.) The parties had entered into an agreement for the transportation of the respondents' petroleum products. The agreement is admitted. Clause 16 of the agreement reads as under:- "16. All questions, disputes and differences arising under & in relation to this agreement shall be referred to the sole arbitration of the Director (Marketing) of the company. If such Director, Marketing is unable or unshalling to act as the sole arbitrator, the matter shall be referred to the sole arbitration of some other officer of the company by such Director (Marketing) in his place, who is shalling to act as such sole arbitrator. It is known to the parties herein that the arbitrator appointed hereunder is an employee of the company and may be shareholder of the company. The arbitrator to whom the matter is originally referred, whether the Director (Marketing) or officer, as the case may be, on his being transferred or vacating his office or being unable to act, for any reason, the Director (Marketing) shall designate any other person to act as arbitrator in accordance with the terms of the agreement and such person shall be entitled to proceed with the reference from the stage at which it was left by his predecessor. It is also the term of this agreement that no person other than the Director (Marketing) or the person designated by Director (Marketing) as aforesaid shall act as arbitrator. The award of the arbitrator so appointed shall be final, conclusive and binding on all the parties to the agreement and provisions of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 or any statutory modification or reenactment thereof and the Rules made thereunder and for the time being in force shall apply to the arbitration proceedings under this clause. The venue of the arbitration shall be Patna."
(3.) The disputes and differences arose between the parties. The respondents suspended the operation of the petitioner's fleet of trucks on 27.03.2015 and thereafter terminated the contract on 03.06.2015. The respondents also blacklisted the petitioner. The petitioner now seeks damages. The petitioner by a letter dated 08.06.2015 invoked the arbitration clause. The petitioner called upon the respondents to appoint an arbitrator. The respondents admittedly did not do so. The petition was filed on 14.07.2015. Even thereafter, the respondents did not appoint an arbitrator.;