In Roshan Real Estates Pvt Ltd v. Government of NCT of Delhi, the Delhi High Court, on July 1, 2025, held that an arbitrator's past professional relationship with a party could render them ineligible under Section 12(5) read with Entry 1 of the Seventh Schedule of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The petitioner, awarded a CPWD contract, later objected to the appointment of Mr. B.B. Dhar as arbitrator, as he had previously supervised their work as a CPWD engineer and had been removed in a prior arbitration in 2020 on similar grounds. Justice Jasmeet Singh observed that such prior engagement created justifiable doubts about the arbitrator's impartiality, thereby constituting a “business relationship” that disqualified him. The Court terminated Mr. Dhar’s mandate and appointed Justice Rekha Palli (Retd.) as sole arbitrator under DIAC rules. This judgment reinforces that arbitrator independence is paramount, and statutory ineligibility cannot be overridden by declarations of impartiality.