Facts/Background:

• BBR (India) Private Limited was the Appellant.
• S.P. Singla Constructions Private Limited was the Respondent.
• The Appellant and the Respondent executed a contract on 30 June 2011 for the supply, installation, and stressing of cable stays for a 592-meter bridge. The arbitration clause did not specify the seat or venue of arbitration.
• The contract and letter of intent were executed in Panchkula, Haryana, where the Respondent's corporate office was located, while the Appellant's registered office was in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
• Disputes arose between the parties during the project's execution, leading to arbitration proceedings. Mr. Justice (Retd.) N.C. Jain was initially appointed as the sole arbitrator, but after his recusal, Mr. Justice (Retd.) T.S. Doabia took over.
• The arbitration proceedings were conducted, and the award was pronounced on 29 January 2016 in Delhi. The respondent was awarded a sum of ₹3.35 crore with interest.
• However, jurisdictional conflicts emerged as the Respondent filed an application under Section 9 in Panchkula, while the Appellant filed a petition under Section 34 in Delhi High Court, raising the question of the jurisdictional seat of arbitration.
• The Additional District Judge, Panchkula, dismissed the Respondent's application on 14.12.2016 for lack of territorial jurisdiction, with the Court holding that jurisdiction lay exclusively with the Delhi High Court.
• On 14.10.2019, the High Court of Punjab and Haryana overturned the order, ruling that Delhi courts lacked jurisdiction. The arbitration clause's silence on seat of arbitration granted jurisdiction to the Panchkula courts.
• Aggrieved by the Punjab and Haryana High Court's decision, the Appellant approached the Supreme Court to determine the proper jurisdictional seat of arbitration, citing the precedence of the Delhi High Court under Section 42 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act.
  

Main Issue:

• Whether conducting the arbitration proceedings at Delhi, owing to the appointment of a new arbitrator, would shift the ‘jurisdictional seat of arbitration’ from Panchkula in Haryana, the place fixed by the first arbitrator for the arbitration proceedings?