UNION OF INDIA Vs. C SUBBA REDDY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PETITIONERS have filed this civil petition under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (for short, the Act)for setting aside the award dated 28-7-2003. The Registry has raised an objection about maintainability of the petition.

(2.) PETITIONERS rely on Section 42 of the act to contend that a petition under Section 34 of the Act is maintainable before the High court. Section 42 reads as under : 42. Jurisdiction: Notwithstanding anything contained elsewhere in this Part or in any other law for the time being in force, where with respect to an Arbitration agreement any application under this Part has been made in a Court, that Court alone shall have jurisdiction over the arbitral proceedings and all subsequent applications arising out of that agreement and the arbitral proceedings shall be made in that Court and in no other Court. " section 34 of the Act provides for recourse to a Court against an arbitral award. The term court has been defined in Section 2 (e) of the Act, which reads thus : 2. (e) "court" means the principal Civil court of original jurisdiction in-a district; and includes the High Court in exercise of its ordinary original civil jurisdiction, having jurisdiction to decide the questioris forming the subject-matter of the Arbitration if the same had been the subject-matter of a suit, but does not include any civil Court of a grade inferior to such principal Civil Court, or any court of Small Causes : therefore, any petition, under Section 34 will have to be filed in the Court of Principal civil Court of original jurissdiction. In fact, the Registry has, while raising the objection, pointed put that in Kongarar Spinner Ltd, v. Maharashtra Apex Corporation Ltd. (CMP No. 13 of 2000, decided on 3-3-2000), it is held that the remedy under Section 34 should be availed by approaching Civil Court. Be that as it may.

(3.) THE petitioners contend that as an application for appointment of an arbitrator had been filed under Section 11 of the Act, in CMP 36 of 2000 before the High Court, all subsequent applications arising out of the said agreement and arbitral proceedings will have to be filed only before the High Court, having regard to Section 42 of the Act. It is contended that therefore the petitioners have filed the petition under Section 34 before the high Court. It is no doubt true that Section 42 provides that where with respect to an arbitration agreement any application under that Part has been made in a Court, that court alone shall have jurisdiction over the arbitral proceedings and all subsequent applications arising out of that agreement and the arbitral proceedings shall have to be made in that Court and in no other Court. The word Court referred in the said Section is Court defined in Section 2 (e) of the Act, exercising adjudicatory or judicial power.