RELIANCE INFRATEL LTD. Vs. BAL KISHAN GUPTA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) CM No. 6977/2012 (u/o 22 R. 4 PC).

(2.) ORDER impugned is dated 06.09.2011; the legal issue raised and answered in the impugned order was to the effect that if the original document containing the arbitration clause which in this case was an un -registered lease deed is inadmissible in evidence, the arbitration clause contained therein could also not be read. The petitioner is aggrieved by this finding. His contention is that although admittedly the lease deed dated 01.04.2003 was an unregistered document yet it was a lease which had been executed between the parties for a period of 20 years. Contention is that in view of a judgment of a Bench of this Court reported in : 97 (2002) DLT 767 Trans World Finance & Real Estte Co. Pvt. Ltd. Vs. Union of India, even an unregistered lease deed can be looked into for collateral purpose and the existence of the arbitration agreement or otherwise is one such purpose for which such an agreement can be relied upon. The impugned order has noted a subsequent judgment of a Bench of this Court reported as : 155 (2008) DLT 221 National Textile Corporation Limited and Industries Vs. Ashwal Vaderra wherein the Court had inter -alia noted as follows: -

(3.) IN the facts of the judgment in National Textile Corporation Limited and Industries (supra), the written lease deed had come to an end and a new oral lease deed had been relied upon; the Court had noted that the arbitration clause which finds mention in the earlier lease deed cannot be invoked.