Coercive withdrawal of Arbitration must be tested by the Tribunal

A railway contractor sought arbitration of a ₹50.27 lakh GST reimbursement claim after having earlier withdrawn its arbitration demand and submitted a No Claim Certificate. 

The Railways argued that the fresh Section 11 application was barred by the Supreme Court's ruling in HPCL Bio-Fuels. 

The High Court held that this could not be decided at the referral stage because the contractor alleged that the earlier withdrawal was compelled by the Railways withholding admitted dues.