Arbitration Commences With Notice, Not Section 11 Petition: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has clarified that arbitral proceedings commence when a notice invoking arbitration is received by the opposite party under Section 21 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, not when a Section 11 petition for appointment of an arbitrator is filed.

Setting aside a Karnataka High Court ruling, the Court held that linking commencement to judicial proceedings distorts the statutory scheme.

It reaffirmed that courts cannot override Section 21 by treating Section 11 filings as the trigger for arbitration

[Regenta Hotels v. Hotel Grand Centre Point]