LAWS(DLH)-2012-5-134

MEDIA ASIA PRIVATE LIMITED Vs. PRASAR BHARTI

Decided On May 10, 2012
Media Asia Private Limited Appellant
V/S
PRASAR BHARTI Respondents

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The respondent filed an application under Section 11(6)(c) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (hereinafter referred to as 'the said Act') on the original side of this court which was registered as AA No. 203/ 2000. The said application makes a reference to an agreement dated 13.01.1995 entered inter se the parties giving the appellant a status of accredited advertising agent w. e. f. 01.02.1995. It is also the say in the application that from January 1995 to October 1997, the appellant's programme 'Ek Se Bad Kar Ek' was telecast on the National network of DD-1. The appellant failed to pay the bills raised by the respondent from time-to-time. As against the total billing amount of Rs. 12,37,15,132, the appellant paid only a sum of Rs. 11,14,73,075 leaving an outstanding balance of amount of Rs. 1,22,42,057, which has not been paid despite repeated requests, including a legal notice. There was no response to the legal notice. Disputes having arisen between the parties, by virtue of the agreement dated 13.01.1995 containing an arbitration clause, the matter was required to be referred to arbitration. The arbitration clause reads as under:

(2.) We have heard learned counsel for parties and perused the record including the compilation of the record sought to be handed over to us for the first time today in court. As to what was urged before the learned Single Judge is set out in paragraph 3 of the impugned order, which reads as under:

(3.) We may notice that the plea of the learned counsel for the appellant before us is that there were two agreements inter se the parties-the first one dated 01.11.1994 and the second one dated 13.01.1995. The first agreement is stated to contain no arbitration clause while the second one contains an arbitration clause. The first agreement is stated to be related to a particular serial "Ek Se Bad Kar Ek". It has thus been contended that these were two separate agreements and the cause of action qua the amount due under the two agreements could not have been clubbed together. It has also been urged that a substantive part of the claims of the respondent related to the first agreement dated 01.11.1994 and that a specific plea qua this issue has been raised in Ground 'W' of the application under Section 34 of the said Act.