SC names former CJI as arbitrator for chemical firms case

New Delhi, May 30 (UNI) The Supreme Court has appointed a three-member Arbitration Tribunal, headed by former Chief Justice of India R C Lahoti, to settle a dispute between the Groupe Chemique Tunisien SA (GCTSA) and Southern Petrochemicals Industries Corporation Ltd (SPICL).

The petitioner, GCTSA, had charged the respondent, SPICL, with failing to pay the invoice amounts aggregating to 1,50,15,913.38 US dollars (approximately Rs 70 crore) to it for supply of phosph oric acid.

It had filed a civil suit in an Amman (Jordan) Court of First Instance for recovery of the amount but the same was dismissed on March 20,2003 for lack of jurisdiction. The Amman Court of Appeal had also dismissed the appeal.

Hearing the case here, a SC bench, headed by Justice R V Raveendran, by an order dated May 24, constituted the Tribunal to settle the dispute between the parties, while allowing the arbitration petition of the GCTSA.

The court directed the registry to communicate the constitution of the Arbitration Tribunal to the three arbitrators to enable them to enter upon the reference and decide the matter expeditiously.

Other members of the Tribunal are former Supreme Court judges Justices (retd) S R Pandian and D P Wadhwa.

UNI AKS/SC VD PM1916