While the wrangle over the independence of the judiciary in appointment of judges is going on at the highest level, there is a less visible struggle for dominance in the field of arbitration. The government, public sector undertakings and their affiliates are the largest provider of contracts in the country. This gives them an upper hand while employing private firms to build huge projects. Very often the agreements they offer contain one-sided clauses, the most controversial being the appointment of their own executives or related people as arbitrators.
The Supreme Court has criticised this practice in several judgments in the past
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