PURVANKARA LIMITED Vs. KNS INFRASTRUCTURE PRIVATE LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has filed this Civil Miscellaneous Petition under Sec. 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act , 1996 seeking appointment of a sole arbitrator for adjudication of the disputes that have arisen between the petitioner and the respondent in terms of Clause 7 of the Agreement of Sale dtd. 8/2/2016.

(2.) Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner had entered into an agreement with the respondent wherein the respondent owner had agreed to sell and the petitioner agreed to purchase 8 unsold sites which formed part of "KNS UNNATI" project, totally admeasuring 20073 sq.ft. It is the contention of the petitioner that the petitioner paid a sum of Rs.1.00 Crore in compliance of its obligation of part payment as per Clause 1.1 of the agreement. However, despite the expiry of 60 days to effect the sale of the agreed sites, the respondent failed to complete the sale transaction. The petitioner addressed a letter dtd. 25/4/2017 terminating the agreement and sought for refund of Rs.1.00 Crore along with interest at the rate of 18% per annum from the date of the agreement till the date of refund within 7 days from the date of said letter. The petitioner also demanded Rs.20.00 lakhs towards expenses. It is contended that since the respondent did not respond to the said notice, the petitioner once again reiterated its demand by issuing another letter dtd. 24/5/2019. It is stated in the petition that consequent to the communication made by the petitioner the respondent sent one of its personnel to the office of the petitioner on 1/6/2019 and the said personnel of the respondent conveyed to the petitioner that respondent had agreed to pay Rs.1,93,70,152.00 which is inclusive of interest. However, the respondent made a payment of Rs.1.00 Crore only on 4/6/2019. The petitioner once again made a communication dtd. 17/6/2019 to immediately pay the remaining amount of Rs.93,70,152.00 along with interest calculated from 1/6/2019 till the date of payment. The respondent gave a reply dtd. 5/9/2019 offering to provide lands at Nelamangala, Hoskote, Sarjapura and Devanahalli Villages to the petitioner for the purpose of establishing real estate projects. The petitioner contends that in terms of the said communication the respondents undertook to complete the process of acquisition and provide the lands within a period of six months from the date of the said letter.

(3.) The petitioner once again made a communication dtd. 8/1/2020 calling upon the respondent to provide a complete set of documents and other relevant material in relation to the said land which were intended to be provided by the respondent. The respondent failed to provide any such information as was promised in its earlier communication. The petitioner issued one more demand notice dtd. 6/5/2020. The respondent gave a reply on 23/6/2020 once again reiterating its offer to provide lands as was done in the previous communication and the respondent undertook to complete the process of acquisition and provide the land within a period of four months from the date of the letter.