# Bombay HC upholds pre-2015 unilateral arbitrator appointments 2026-08-09T21:41:08+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet freepressjournal.in reports that the Bombay High Court has ruled that an arbitrator appointed unilaterally before October 23, 2015 is valid if the arbitration agreement allowed one party to make the appointment. Justice Jitendra Jain passed the judgement on August 4 while dealing with execution proceedings involving SE Investments Ltd, now Paisalo Digital Ltd. The court noted that the 2015 amendment to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act changed the legal position by introducing Section 12(5) to strengthen independence and impartiality. However, the later position cannot retroactively invalidate all prior appointments. Appointments made under a clause naming an arbitrator or authorising one party stand, while those without any contractual basis are void. The court also said an executing court cannot reject an award if the appointment was already unsuccessfully challenged. ## Coverage - freepressjournal.in Tags: 2015 amendment, arbitration clause, arbitration law, Bombay High Court, execution proceedings, unilateral appointment Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/bombay-hc-upholds-pre-2015-unilateral-arbitrator-appointments/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/bombay-hc-upholds-pre-2015-unilateral-arbitrator-appointments/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.