Authority: Supreme Court of India (Civil Appellate Jurisdiction)

Order Date: 07 September 2026

Case Overview

  • Parties: M/s STL Networks Limited (appellant) vs Caspian India Engicon Pvt. Ltd. (respondent).
  • Two contracts: the “Mahanet Agreement” and the “T‑Fiber Agreement” for optical fiber cable services on separate projects.
  • Arbitration under the Mahanet Agreement had Ms. Saumya Tandon appointed as sole arbitrator on 16 September 2025 by the High Court of Delhi.
  • A separate arbitration under the T‑Fiber Agreement was initiated, leading to an application under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, before the High Court of Delhi, and a second arbitrator was appointed.
  • STL Networks contended that the claim under the T‑Fiber Agreement, which it said was more than twice the claim under the Mahanet Agreement, should be set‑off against amounts payable under the Mahanet Agreement (cross‑project set‑off).

Court Reasoning

  • The Court declined to examine the merits of the cross‑project set‑off or the quantum of the respective claims.
  • It held that, for procedural consistency, the arbitration of the dispute arising under the T‑Fiber Agreement should be conducted by the same arbitrator already appointed for the Mahanet Agreement, i.e., Ms. Saumya Tandon.

Final Outcome

  • The appeal is allowed.
  • The impugned order is modified to appoint Ms. Saumya Tandon as the sole arbitrator for both agreements.
  • The parties may raise all contentions before her; the Court does not express any view on the merits of the set‑off claim.
  • Any pending applications, if any, are rejected.

Topics: Arbitration, Contract Set‑off