News Citation : 2026 LN (HC) 97 | 2026:CGHC:2007
January 13, 2026 : The High Court of Chhattisgarh has appointed a sole arbitrator to resolve a long-running payment dispute between a rice milling firm and the State of Chhattisgarh along with its procurement agencies, bringing an end to prolonged pre-arbitration delays.
The order was passed by Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha while allowing an application filed by M/s Anant Rice Industries under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The firm had sought court intervention after alleging that contractual settlement mechanisms had failed despite repeated directions and assurances from government authorities.
Anant Rice Industries, a partnership firm engaged in custom milling of paddy under the government procurement scheme, had entered into multiple agreements with the State and the Chhattisgarh State Cooperative Marketing Federation. These agreements provided a two-tier dispute resolution process, requiring disputes to be first examined by the District Collector before being referred to arbitration.
According to the applicant, despite completing its contractual obligations, it was not paid more than ₹34.96 lakh, allegedly due to unlawful deductions towards GST and porterage charges. The firm contended that even after formally invoking the settlement process and approaching the State Government for arbitration, no effective decision was taken for several years.
The State and procurement authorities opposed the plea, arguing that arbitration had been invoked prematurely and that the firm had attempted to bypass the agreed settlement mechanism. They also submitted that disputes under different milling years arose from separate agreements and could not be consolidated into a single arbitration proceeding.
During the hearing, however, all parties agreed that the matter could be resolved through arbitration if a neutral and independent arbitrator was appointed by the Court. On consensus, the Court appointed Justice Deepak Kumar Tiwari, a former judge of the High Court, as the sole arbitrator to adjudicate the disputes. The Court directed its registry to formally communicate the appointment and clarified that the arbitrator’s fees would be fixed by mutual consent of the parties. With this, the arbitration application was allowed.
Case Reference : ARBR No. 61 of 2025, M/s Anant Rice Industries v. State of Chhattisgarh & Others; Counsels: for the applicant, Mr. Suryapratap Yuddhveer Singh, Advocate; for respondent Nos. 1 and 3, Mr. Dharmesh Shrivastava, Deputy Advocate General; and for respondent No. 2, Mr. Vikram Sharma, Advocate.
