CITIBANK, N.A versus TLC MARKETING PLC AND ANR.

Citation: [2007] 10 S.C.R. 710 · Decided: 05-10-2007 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: LOKESHWAR SINGH PANTA · Disposal: Disposed off

Judgment (excerpt)

A 
CITIBANK, N.A. 
v. 
TLC MARKETING PLC AND ANR. 
OCTOBER 5, 2007 
B 
[LOKESHW AR SINGH PANT A, J.] 
Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996: 
C 
ss. 2(j), 7, 11(5),JJ(JO) and 11(12) rlw ss.10 and 21-
'Jnternational Commercial arbitration '-Application for appointment 
of sole arbitrator-A tripartite agreement amongst parties for ''free 
return flight vouchers" to eligible credit card customers of applicant 
Bank-Violation of-Notice by applicant-Bank invoking arbitration 
D clause of agreement and suggesting a name for appointment as sole 
arbitrator-Respondent repudiating claim and declining to accept the 
nomination suggested-Application by Bank ulss. 11 (5), 11(10) and 
11 (12) read withs. l 0 of the Act for appointment of sole arbitrator in 
'international commercial arbitration '-Application resisted on 
E grounds that notice was vague as no particular dispute was sought to 
be referred and terms of agreement were limited to obligations of 
parties arising prior to expiration of agreement-Alternative plea of 
appointment of arbitral tribunal comprising three arbitrators-HELD: 
Disputes arising out of the arbitration agreement between parties are 
F covered under the definition of"international commercial arbitration" 
in terms ofs.2(/)-Parties entered into an arbitration agreement as 
provided uls 7-The contract is a commercial document and must be 
interpreted in a manner to give efficacy to contract rather than to 
invalidate it-Narrow technical approach is not proper-On facts, 
existence of arbitration agreement was accepted and matter was 
G 
H 
suggested to be referred to an arbitral tribunal-Requirement of s. l 0(2) 
is fully attracted, there being arbitration agreement deemed to be one 
providing for a sole arbitrator-A composition of arbitral tribunal 
comprising three arbitrators is not necessary or expedient nor can it 
710 
"-k 
J 
CITIBANK, N .A. v. TLC MARKETING PLC 
711 
be said to be fair and reasonable in larger interest of parties keeping A 
in view the objectives of Act to make arbitral proceedings less 
expensive and more efficacious-In the circumstances, taking into 
consideration the fact that disputes and differences between parties 
emanating from the contract are required to be resolved through 
arbitration, sole arbitrator is appointed-Credit cards-Agreement for B 
''free return flight vouchers" to cardholders-Violation of-Remedy--
Deeds and Documents-Commercial documents-Interpretation of 
Major (Retd.) lnder Singh Rekhi v. Delhi Development Authority, 
[1988] 2 sec 338, held inapplicable. 
c 
CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION : Arbitration Petition/ 
Application No.I of 2007. 
(Under Section 10(2) read with Sections 2(f), 11(5), 11(10) and 
11(12) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. 
D 
--' 
R.S. Suri for the Petitioner. 
A.K. Ganguly, Soli J. Sorabjee, Nikhil Nayyar, Anl<it Singha, TVSR 
Sreyas and N. Ganpathy for the Respondents. 
The following Order of the Court was delivered 
ORDER 
E 
1. The applicant-Citibank, N.A. preferred this application under 
Sections 11(5), 11(10) and 11(12) read with Section 10 of the Arbitration F 
and Conciliation Act, 1996 [hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'] praying 
for appointment of sole Arbitrator in an 'international commercial 
arbitration' in terms of Section 2(f) of the Act, to adjudicate the dispute 
between the parties. 
2. The applicant-Citibank, is a national banking association duly 
constituted, registered and in existence in accordance with the laws of 
the United State of America now in force and having its head office at 
399 Park Avenue, Borough of Manhattan, City of New York and having 
G 
an office in India among other places at Citigroup Centre, G. C-61, H 
Bandra-Kurla Complex, Bandra (East), Mumbai. The applicant-Citibank, 
-\_ 
712 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[2007] 10 S.C.R. 
A being engaged in banking business in India pursuant to licence~ and 
--1., 
approvals from relevant authorities including Reserve Bank of India, inter 
alia, issues Credit and Debit Cards collectively [hereinafter referred to 
as 'Citibank Cards']. 
B 
3. The respondent No.I-TLC Marketing PLC (for short 'TLC'], 
is a company incorporated under the provisions of the laws in force in 
the United Kingdom having its registered office at 54, Banker Street, 
London WIU 7BU. TLC is a company engaged in the business of 
---l:' 
marketing and selling inter alia leisure, life-style and travel services. 
C 
4. The respondent No. 2-Wunderman India Pvt. Ltd. (for

Excerpt shown. Read the full judgment & AI analysis in Lexace.