PASUPATI FABRICS LTD. Vs. HARIKISHAN B. MARWADI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this application under Sec. 11 (6)(c) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (for short the Act), tire applicant prays for appointment of an independent arbitrator to resolve the disputes and differences, which are stated to have arisen between the parties, on failure of the Delhi Stock Exchange to undertake arbitration between the parties in terms of arbitration clause 20 of the arbitration agreement dated 11 March 1996.

(2.) Certain disputes having arisen between the parties with reference to the afore noted agreement, vide their letter dated 21 Jan. 1997, the applicant informed the respondent that they were referring the disputes between them to the arbitration committee of its Regional Stock Exchange namely, the Stock Exchange Association Limited, New Delhi. The respondent was called upon to give consent in writing for referring the disputes to the arbitration committee within 15 days of the receipt of the said notice. Having failed to get any response to the said letter, the applicant submitted its statement of claims before the arbitration committee of the Delhi Stock Exchange Association Limited on 17 May 1997. However, vide their letter dated 26 Nov. 1997, the Delhi Stock Exchange Association informed the applicant that they cannot start arbitration proceedings between the applicant and the respondent/ underwriters because the latter have failed to fulfill their underwriting commitments and further, the Delhi Stock Exchange Association have never agreed to conduct arbitration proceedings. Hence the present application.

(3.) The applicant is registered by the respondent mainly on the ground that the disputes, subject-matter of the present application, have already been adjudicated upon by the arbitration committee of Saurashtra Kutch Stock Exchange Limited and, therefore, the present application is not maintainable.