PEARSON INDIA EDUCATION SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED Vs. M/S. PUPIL TREE FOUNDATIONS A TRUST CONSTITUTED UNDER THE LAWS OF INDIA AND OTHER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By way of this application under section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 ('the Act of 1996'), the petitioner has made the request for appointment of Arbitrator to adjudicate upon and decide all its disputes with the respondents, arising out of, and relating to, the Service Agreement dated 23.11.2012.

(2.) The petitioner is a registered company engaged in providing non-academic related services, consultancy and management strategies to the existing and new schools to enhance their education delivery mechanism. It is the case of the petitioner that it executed a service agreement dated 23.11.2012 with the respondent - Trust to provide education support services and school establishment services. By way of amendment to the service agreement on 04.02.2013, the mode of payment clause has been modified.

(3.) It is contended that as per the terms of the agreement, the petitioner paid a sum of Rs. 7,25,00,000/- as refundable non-interest bearing security deposit to the respondent No.1 and after receipt of the amount, the respondents adopted non-cooperative attitude and requested for restructuring of the commercial terms of the agreement; and this resulted in the respondents committing breach of the terms of the agreement. Therefore, the petitioner served notice to the respondents on 21.04.2015 invoking the arbitration clause of the agreement calling upon the respondents to remedy the breach. Since the respondents did not respond to the said notice, the petitioner issued a reminder in this regard. Thereafter, the respondents replied on 15.12.2015 taking totally untenable stand.