P DHANDAPANI Vs. MOTOR AND GENERAL FINANCE LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner entered into a hire purchase agreement with the respondent in respect of compactor-cum-dryer machines on 28.06.96. The said hire purchase agreement is not available on record but a payment schedule dated 01.03.1996 has been placed on record which shows that the price of the equipment was 10,40,000/- and it was financed to the extent of Rs 9,26,000/- in 36 instalments of Rs 26,000. The agreement between the parties contained an arbitration clause and since the petitioner, after availing of the said loan facility against hire purchase of the machinery, failed to pay the instalments, the dispute was referred to the sole arbitration of Mr. Inderjit Gulati. The arbitrator made and published his award on 01.04.2001 and the petitioner aggrieved by the same has filed the present objections under section 34 of the Arbitration and conciliation Act, 1996 (hereinafter referred to as the 'said Act').

(2.) It may be noticed that the petitioner refused to participate in the arbitration proceedings. It is stated that some communications were addressed to the arbitrator objecting to the jurisdiction but the petitioner did not take any steps to file any reply or invite any order from the arbitrator on his jurisdiction.

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioner does not dispute that the objections must fall within the parameters of Section 34 (2) of the said Act as enunciated by the Supreme Court in Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. v. Saw Pipes Ltd., AIR 2003 SC 2629 in order to enable the petitioner to succeed in the present proceedings. In view of the said parameters, learned counsel for the petitioner has set forth the following submissions: