Supreme Court appoints Justice RV Raveendran the sole arbitrator in Toyota Kirloskar-Radha Krishna Automobile dispute

Supreme Court appoints Justice RV Raveendran the sole arbitrator in Toyota Kirloskar-Radha Krishna Automobile dispute

He has been authorized under the provisions of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act

The Supreme Court has appointed former judge, Justice RV Raveendran as the sole arbitrator in the dispute over a dealership agreement between Toyota Kirloskar and Radha Krishna Automobile.

A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice PS Narasimha and Justice JB Pardiwala passed the order after noting that both parties wanted the matter referred to arbitration.

The court ordered, "By consent, Justice RV Raveendran, the former judge of the Supreme Court is appointed as a sole arbitrator under the provisions of the Arbitration and Conciliation (A&C) Act."

The apex court was hearing an appeal against a November 2022 order of the Karnataka High Court that had terminated a dealership agreement between the two parties.

Setting aside the order, the Supreme Court noted the submission of petitioner Toyota's counsel. It observed that for three weeks the dealership of the respondents would remain in operation on a 'holding over' even though they were not entitled to any continuance of the existing arrangement.

The top court ruled, "During the aforesaid period of three weeks, it will be open to the respondent to move the sole arbitrator for interim relief under the A&C Act. Any such application shall be decided on its merits uninfluenced by any of the observations contained in the impugned judgment."

While senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Kavin Gulati appeared for Toyota, senior advocates KK Venugopal, Shyam Divan, S Guru Krishna Kumar, Dr Menaka Guruswamy, and Vikram Pooserla represented Radha Krishna Automobile.

About Justice RV Raveendran:

He enrolled as an advocate in 1968 and was elevated to the Karnataka High Court in 1993. He became the Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in 2004 and was elevated to the Supreme Court in 2005.

In 2021, he headed the three-member expert committee formed by the Supreme Court to probe into the Pegasus surveillance scandal.

Justice RV Raveendran is part of the Board of Trustees of the International Arbitration and Mediation Centre, Hyderabad.