MANJU GUPTA Vs. MEENU SINGHAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition has been filed under Sec. 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (hereinafter referred to as the "Act") praying for the following relief:-

(2.) It is the case of the petitioners that before filing of the present petition, the petitioners had invoked the Arbitration Agreement between the parties as is contained in the "Memorandum Recording Family Settlement" dtd. 28/4/2007 (hereinafter referred to as the "Family Settlement"), inter alia, against the husband/father of the respondents- Shri Pawan Singhal, vide notice dtd. 3/3/2020. On failure of the parties agreeing to the appointment of the Arbitrator, the petitioners had filed a petition under Sec. 11 of the Act, being ARB.P. 331/2020 titled Smt. Manju Gupta and Ors. v. Shri Vilas Gupta and Ors. The said petition was allowed by a Coordinate Bench of this Court vide order dtd. 22/1/2021, appointing Mr. Justice C.M. Nayar (Retd.) as an Arbitrator.

(3.) In the Statement of Claim filed before the learned Arbitrator, the petitioners impleaded the respondents herein, who are the wife and children of Shri Pawan Singhal, who had been impleaded as respondent no.4 in the earlier petition. An objection to such impleadment was raised by the respondents by filing an application under Order I Rule 10 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (in short "CPC"). The said application has been allowed by the learned Sole Arbitrator vide order dtd. 24/11/2021, keeping in view that neither in the notice dtd. 3/3/2020 invoking arbitration nor in the petition filed under Sec. 11 of the Act, the respondents herein had been impleaded as parties.