1

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY

ORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION
INTERIM APPLICATION NO. __OF 2023
IN (_L'l
ARBITRATION PETITION No. l4q3J-QF 2023
(Under Section 34 of The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996)

Mahima Dhawan ... Applicant/(Orig. Petitioner)

In the matter between:
Mahima Dhawan ... Petitioner

VERSUS

Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited ... Respondent

INDEX
Sr No Exhibit Particulars Page No.
I. Proforma
2-4
2. Interim Application 5 - 19
3. Docket 20

Adv~cant
(Org. Petitioner)
 2

,eBOF{JR4£!1
IN .
. THE HIGH COURT OFJUDICATIJREATBOMBAY
ORDINARY ORIGINAL CWILJURISDICT10N
. . ~

. PETITION/ffl!IR'j.;lr.P&JLNO. 140.2>2.. OF 20.2--3

_Y\~·=°'-=~..,_,~"«l-'-'--'-"a,,_·__,,_~_,M'-'-'·...,q_=l..'.)"--«__.,.'Qc....z__ _~.....;••Plaintiff/s
PetitifJner/s
•

AdvocateShri (?s:,ho,
Versus

Office Notes, OJ/ice Memorandum· • Courts.orJudges Orders

. ~
ofCoi·am: Appearances, Court's
Orde~-s ofdir.ecti·ons and .
ProtJi.onotary's Orders.
 3

Office N6t1s, Offtee Memorti!li/J.lim

ofCoramt Appetrra.nci,s;·eouri:'s
o"rae,'.s cifdif.ectiD'lu and
Prutlr.'onotary's Orders.

.....
 4

Office Not~, Office Memordiii'lulfl

ofCorallll.AppetYranci_s;·o,urt's
Orileh oJditeetions and
Prot1ionotary's Orders.
-...-----,------~-------------------
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT

BOMBAY
ORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION
INTERIM APPLICATION NO . ..... OF 2023
IN C!-')
ARBITRATION PETITION NOJ~Do2.. OF 2023
(Under Section 34 of The Arbitration and Conciliation Act,
1996)

Mahima Dhawan )
Adult, Indian Citizen )
C/O Ritu Dhawan )
4529 DLF Phase-4, Gurgaon 122009 ) ... Applicant
(Orig. Petitioner)
In the matter between:
Mahima Dhawan )
Adult, Indian Citizen )
C/O Ritu Dhawan )
4529 DLF Phase-4, Gurgaon 122009 ) ... Petitioner

VERSUS

Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited )

Having its registered office at )
 6

C-27 G Block, Bandra Kurla Complex )

Bandra (East), Mumbai 400 051 )
Branch Office at )
Plot No-7, 1" Floor, )
Sector 125, Noida, )
Uttar Pradesh ) ... Respondent

INTERIM APPLICATION -FOR URGENT

INTERIM AND AD - INTERIM RELIEFS ON
BEHALF OF THE APPLICANT/ ORIG.
PETITIONER

1. That the present Interim Application for urgent

Interim and Ad- Interim relief(s) is being preferred
on behalf of the Applicant/ Orig. Petitioner (Award
Debtor), against the Respondent (Award Holder).

2. That the Applicant/ Orig. Petitioner has preferred

Petition under Section 34 of the Arbitration and
Conciliation Act, 1996 against the Respondent for
setting aside the Arbitral award dated 31.5.2021 so
granted ex parte by the Ld. Sole Arbitrator and for
staying the Execution of the same by the present
respondent.
 7

3. That the Applicant/ Orig. Petitioner herein repeats,

reiterates and adopts all the submissions as made in
the Petition including the grounds taken in the main
petition.

4. That the applicant is a law abiding, God - fearing,

lady citizen, living and working in Gurugram,
Haryana who had availed of Credit Card facilities
from the respondent. That arising out of disputes
from the credit card bill, the respondent had
unilaterally appointed Arbitrator in Mumbai, who
has passed Ex - parte Award dated 31.5.2021
ordering the Applicant to pay a sum of
Rs.157,167.15/- along with 18% p.a. On the same
from date of 5 - Jan - 21 to the day of payment and
cost of arbitration fixed at Rs. 5,500/-

5. That the Applicant/ Orig. Petitioner is challenging

the Ex - parte Arbitral Award dated 31.5.2021 as
passed by Ld. Sole Arbitrator M. Justin George,
thereby ordering the Applicant/ Orig. petitioner to
pay to the respondent a sum of Rs. 157167.15/-
alongwith interest @ 18% p a. on the same from the
date of 5 - Jan - 21 to the date of payment as per the
Section 31 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act.
That the cost of arbitration was fixed at Rs. 5,500/-
and shall be payable by the Applicant/ Orig.
 8

Petitioner, as per the Impugned Award, as well.

6. That the applicant states that at no point of time,

either before the institution of arbitration, during the
arbitration and after the arbitration, did the
applicant/ Orig. Petitioner receive any notice for
invocation of arbitration under section 21 of the Act,
which is mandatory provision to commence the
Arbitration. The applicant also at no point of time
received any Notice of hearing from the Arbitral
Tribunal, nor from the respondents.

7. That the applicant states that in the absence of any

notice of hearing, the Ld. Sole Arbitrator proceeded
to hear the matter ex - parte skipping over the
process of issuance of Notice by way of Substituted
service. That the applicant further states that at no
point in time did the respondent prefer any
application for substituted service and nor did the
Ld. Sole Arbitrator pass any such orders for service
of notice of hearing through substituted service. That
the Ld. Sole Arbitrator simplicitor proceeded to hear
and decide the matter ex - parte.

8. That the applicant states that even after passing off

the Impugned Award dated 31.5.2021, no
information of passing of the same was provided to
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the applicant, no notice, no letter, no award copy was

ever served or provided to the applicant by the Ld.
Arbitrator nor the respondent. As the limitation for
challenging the Awards start only after receipt of the
Award by the applicant.

9. That the Applicant states that it has come to the

knowledge of the Applicant that the Respondent has
preferred Execution proceedings bearing No. 2675

Of 2021 Before the Hon'ble Court of Ld. Additional

District Judge at Gurugram, wherein the
Respondent has prayed for an Issuance of warrant of
attachment in satisfication of the Impugned Award
dated 31.5.2021. That the Applicant craves leave to
produce, refer and rely upon the documents/ orders
passed by the Hon'ble Court in Gurugram in
Execution Proceedings bearing No. 2675 of 2021

10. That the Applicant states that since the appointment

of Arbitral Tribunal was unilateral and without
consent, it goes to the root of the matters and thus,
the Execution proceedings deserves to be dismissed
and the Award should be served upon the Applicant.

That the Applicant states that only during the

abovementioned Execution Proceedings, did the
Applicant come to know for the first time of the
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existence of the Impugne d Award dated 31.5.2021 .

That the applicant further states that at no point in
time prior to the execution proceedings, did the
applicant know of the existence of any arbitration
nor any award which has been passed in the same.

12. That the Applicant states that the applicant, at the

time of filing of this present application, does not
even have the full record and proceedings relied
upon by the Ld. Sole Arbitrator prior to passing of
the Award and to that extent the Applicant, through
advocate, has written email dated 17.3.202 3
requesting the Ld. Sole Arbitrator to provide all the
documents, record and proceedings 1n the
possession of the Ld. Sole Arbitrator to the
Applicant. That annexed herewith and marked as
Exhibit ... is a copy of the said email dated
17.3.202 3shared by the advocate for the Applicant
with the Ld. Sole Arbitrator. That the Applicant
craves leave to produce, refer and rely upon the
documents, if any. Provided to the Applicant by the
Ld. Sole Arbitrator at a later date on application for
certified copy;

That the Applicant states that, in the circumstance,

in the absence of proper notices of invocation of
arbitration, absence of proper notice of hearing of
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arbitration, absence of intimation of Impugned

Arbitration Award dated 31.5.2021, the present
applicant has never been afforded any opportunity to
contest the claim as alleged by the Respondent. If
any opportunity would have been granted would
have not been proceeded further on the sole reason
that the Tribunal was constituted unilaterally.

14. That the applicant states that the applicant was

regularly in touch with the authorized
representatives of the Respondent who had offered
One - Time settlement against the claim amounts as
alleged by the respondent in the Impugned Ex- Parte
Award dated 31.5.2021.

15. That the applicant states that the applicant has paid
the said amounts as offered by the authorized
representatives of the respondent towards one -
time settlement of the claim amounts as alleged by
the respondent in the Impugned Ex- Parte Award
dated 31.5.2021. That the applicant craves leave to
produce, refer and rely upon the said documents
including bank transfer details denoting the
payment of the amounts by the applicant to the
respondent and the receipt of the said amounts by
the respondent, as claimed by the Authorised
representatives of the Respondent towards One -
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Time Settlement of the claim amounts as alleged by

the Respondent in the Impugned Ex- Parte Award
dated 31.5.2021.

16. That the applicant states that despite receipt of the

amounts as mentioned in One - Time Settlement
letter as issued by the Respondent to the Applicant
and the due payment of the same by the applicant to
the respondent, the respondent bank, for clever,
mischievous and dishonest reasons, withheld the
issuance of No - dues certificate in favour of the
applicant, despite repeated calls and reminders from
the applicant to issue the same. That the Applicant
craves leave to produce refer and rely upon
telephonic conversations held from time to time with
the authorized representatives of the respondent
bank.

17. That the applicant states that having paid full

amount to the tune of Rs.22,000/- on 26.02.2021,

Rs.22,000/- on 22.09.2021 and Rs. 22,500/- on

19.10.2021 totaling to Rs.66,500/- as mentioned in
One - Time Settlement offer of Rs.66,500/- as
issued by the Respondent to the applicant and the
due payment of the said amounts, the respondent,
nonetheless, with vile, evil and dishonest intent,
proceeded to initiate arbitration in Mumbai against
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the applicant, for the same claim amounts, against

which One - time settlement was offered to the
applicant and duly paid by the applicant as well.

18. That the applicant states that despite of offering One

- time settlement to the applicant by the authorized
representatives of the respondent and despite the
fact that the applicant has paid the amounts as
mentioned in One - time settlement letter issued by
the respondent under the letter head of the
respondent, and despite the fact that the authorized
representatives of the respondent were in regular
contact with the applicant and the father of the
applicant, the respondent, with vile and malicious
intent, never bothered to inform and intimate the
applicant about the initiation and the existence of
arbitration proceedings against the applicant in
Mumbai. That the applicant states that neither did
the authorized representatives of the Respondent
ever bother to intimate the applicant about the
existence of Impugned Ex - parte Arbitral Award
dated 31.5.2021. That the Applicant craves leave to
produce refer and rely upon telephonic
conversations held from time to time with the
authorized representatives of the respondent bank.
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19. That the applicant states that the respondent has

misused and grossly abused the arbitral adjudication
process in order to obtain favourable orders behind
the back of the applicant, which is not only contrary
to law, but contrary to the established principles of
natural justice as well.

20. That the applicant states that the illegal actions of the
respondent have destroyed the CIBIL Score of the
applicant thereby causing great difficulty to the
applicant to obtain further loans/ financial
assistance, if required, in the future.

21. That the applicant states that the respondent is

trying to illegally extort moneys from the applicant
which are not due and liable to be paid by the
applicant to the respondent.

22. That the applicant states that the illegal actions of the
respondent and the gross abuse of arbitral laws by
the respondent, has caused tremendous stigma in
the society for the applicant, who is now seen as a
loan defaulter and treated as such by the other
members of the society.

23. That the present matter is a fit case for relief(s) in

favour of the applicant to prepare a defence to the
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allegations, contentions and submissions as alleged

by the respondent and recorded in the Impugned
Award dated 31.5.2021.

24. That the applicant is praying for stay on the

execution and operation of the Impugned ex - parte
Award dated 31.5.2021 passed in favour of the
respondent and against the applicant.

25. That the applicant is further praying for restraining

the respondents from executing the Impugned ex -
parte Award dated 31.5.2021 passed in favour of the
respondent and against the applicant.

26. That the applicant is praying for directions towards

the respondent to not take/ initiate any coercive
steps in the execution of the Impugned ex- parte
award dated 31.5.2021 as passed by the Ld. Sole
Arbitrator.

27. That the Applicant/ Orig. Petitioner states that not

allowing this present Interim Application for Urgent
Interim and Ad-interim reliefs would cause
irreparable harm and injury to the Applicant/ Orig.
Petitioner, which will not be compensated in mere
monetary terms.

That the Applicant/ Orig. Petitioner reserves the

 16

right to add/amend/alter/delete the submissions

made in this present Interim Application.

29. That the Applicant undertakes to pay such sum by

way of damages or costs as this Hon'ble Court may
award as compensation in the event of a party
affected sustaining prejudice by any order that might
be made on such Interim Application.

Prayer

30. That in the circumstance, the Applicant/ Orig.

Plaintiff prays for the following relief(s):

a. That pending the hearing, admission and

final adjudication of the main Arbitration
Petition, this Hon'ble Court be pleased to
stay the operation and execution of the
Order/ Award dated 31.05.2021 as passed
by the Ld. Sole Arbitrator Shri. M. Justin
George; and

b. That pending the hearing, admission and

final adjudication of the main Arbitration
Petition, this Hon'ble Court be pleased to
restrain the Respondent from proceeding
with the Execution of the Impugned Award
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dated 31.5.2021; and

c. That pending the hearing, admission and

final adjudication of the main Arbitration
Petition, this Hon'ble Court be pleased to
direct the Respondent from taking any
coercive steps against the Present
Applicant/ Orig. Petitioner in pursuance of
and in the nature of execution of the
Impugned Award dated 31.5.2021; and

d. That pending the hearing, admission and

final Adjudication of this present
Application, this Hon'ble Court be pleased
to pass interim and ad-interim orders in
pursuance of prayer clauses (a) - (d)
mentioned above;

e. That this Hon'ble Court be pleased to pass

an order to cost(s) in favour of the
Petitioner and against the Respondent;

f. That this Hon'ble Court be pleased to pass

any other order(s) as this Hon'ble Court
may deem fit.

And for such act of kindness and justice, the Applicant, as

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in duty bound shall every pray

Place:Mumbai

~
J,,-- Date:<%\~ ,02=3

Applicant/ Orig.
Through Petitioner

Adv. For the Petitioner

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VERIFICATION

I, Mahima Dhawan, Adult, Indian Citizen, Occ.:

~~u:.st'oncu, residing at C/o 4529 DLF Phase-4, Gurgaon, l
122009, the Applicant/Orig. Petitioner do hereby, on
solemn affirmation, verify and declare that the contents of
para nos. 1 to (22:::} are true to my own knowledge and
belief and that the contents of para nos. ( '2-?, ) to ~ ) are
based on information received and believed to be true. I say
that nothing material has been concealed therefrom.

Solemnly Affirmed at Cq M )
:Tu--\1
On this 8.~
Dayof'P.1Ia1c 2023 )
~
Deponent

g--, f r ~)

RAJMA ... M,-\.L1K

ADVOCATE & NOTARY
Dtstt, Quru!l}"m Haryana (INDIA •
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF

JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
ORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL
JURISDICTION
INTERIM APPLICATION NO . .... .
OF2023
IN (k"I \ Lt_o '2, ')._
ARBITRATION PETITION NO:- .....
OF2023
Mahima Dhawan ... Applicant/
Orig. Petitioner
In the matter between:
Mahima Dhawan ... Petitioner
Versus
Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited .
... Respondent
..............................................
INTERIM APPLICATION
FOR STAY OF OPERATION AND
EXECUTION OF IMPUGNED
AWARD

ESHA SINGH BHADORIA

Advocate for the Petitioner
Office: 2nd Floor, 208, Prospect
Chambers, 317/321 D N Road, Fort.
Mumbai - 400 001 Mob. No.-
7045629816
Email: jurisprudentia@esbglobal.co.in