Delhi High Court designates Sumeet Pushkarna to resolve the dispute between PVR INOX and Sheetal Ansal
The Delhi High Court has appointed advocate Sumeet Pushkarna as the arbitrator to resolve the dispute between PVR INOX and Sheetal Ansal, related to the sealing of the Ansal Plaza Mall in Greater Noida. The court’s decision, delivered by Justice C Hari Shankar on July 30, 2024, comes in response to PVR INOX’s claim of ₹4.5 crore against Ansal.
In its order, the Court acknowledged that an arbitrable dispute exists between the parties, which falls under the scope of the arbitration clause in their agreement. Since the parties could not agree on an arbitrator, the Court intervened to appoint Pushkarna.
The dispute began when PVR INOX’s multiplex, located in the Ansal Plaza Mall, was sealed on July 23, 2022. This action followed a directive from the Gautam Budh Nagar authorities on June 6, 2022, which mandated the recovery of ₹26.33 crore in statutory dues from Ansal Property & Infrastructure Ltd. PVR INOX contends that the lessor, Sheetal Ansal, failed to settle these dues or resolve the issue with the authorities, leading to the sealing of the mall and, consequently, the multiplex.
PVR INOX asserts that under the lease agreement, the lessor is responsible for paying all applicable taxes, levies, and charges. Due to Ansal’s alleged breaches and defaults, the multiplex could not operate, resulting in significant financial losses for PVR INOX.
In response, Ansal’s legal team indicated that they have a counter-claim of approximately ₹4 to ₹5 crore against PVR INOX, which they believe should also be addressed in the arbitration process. The Court affirmed that Ansal is entitled to present all legal objections and counter-claims during the arbitration.
For PVR INOX, advocates Sumit Gehlot, TS Thakran, and Rukon Vadhera are representing their interests, while Sheetal Ansal is being defended by advocates Anand Mishra, Sachin Midha, and Aditya Vikram Bajpai.
(With inputs from agency)
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