The Court differentiated between two types of settlements: bilateral negotiated settlements and "no dues/claims certificates" or discharge vouchers given as a condition for releasing admitted dues. It emphasized the "Kompetenz-Kompetenz" principle, which grants arbitral tribunals the authority to decide on their own jurisdiction, including the validity of the arbitration agreement. At the Section 11 stage, courts must only verify the existence of an arbitration agreement, without delving deeper. Allegations of economic duress related to signing discharge vouchers should be examined by the arbitral tribunal, not courts during arbitrator appointment. Consequently, the Supreme Court set aside the High Court’s order, appointed Justice (Retd.) Suresh Chandrakant Gupta as sole arbitrator, and directed the parties to report to him by May 15, 2025.