Termination of referral Court jurisdiction upon appointment of arbitral tribunal

The statutory jurisdiction exercised by the High Court or the Supreme Court under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, is special, limited, and strictly administrative-judicial in nature. Once an arbitrator or arbitral tribunal is successfully constituted, the jurisdiction of the referral court under Section 11 stands completely exhausted and spent. The referral court does not retain any residual supervisory, controlling, or monitoring power over the ongoing conduct of arbitral proceedings. It is a legal misconception to view the appointing court as a persistent supervisory sentinel retaining authority over subsequent procedural extensions. Upon making the appointment, the referral court becomes functus officio with respect to the arbitration machinery. Subsequent curial supervision and procedures, including time extensions or substitutions, fall within the domain of the principal Civil Court defined in Section 2(1)(e). Conflating the appointment function under Section 11 with ongoing supervisory control under Section 29A violates the structural design of the statute. Therefore, the appointing court cannot be presumed to retain ongoing administrative control over the tribunal. (Jagdeep Chowgule v. Sheela Chowgule & Ors. | 2026 INSC 92)