VIRGOZ OILS & FATS PTE LTD Vs. NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL CO-OPERATIVE MARKETING FEDERATION OF INDIA LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is directed against the order dated 5th December, 2016 passed by the learned Single Judge in Execution Petition No. 149/2015 filed by the Appellant against the judgment debtor, the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. ("NAFED") (the Respondent herein) upholding the objections filed by NAFED under Section 48 of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 ("the Act") and declining to enforce the Foreign Award dated 5th April, 2012 in favour of the Appellant. Consequently, by the impugned judgment, the learned Single Judge dismissed the Appellant's aforementioned execution petition.

(2.) The Appellant is a company incorporated under the laws of Singapore. It claimed to have entered into three separate sales contracts for a sale of 4500 metric tons ("MT") in total of crude palm oil (edible grade) to NAFED. The case of NAFED throughout was that none of the contracts was ever finalized and there was no binding obligation of NAFED thereunder.

(3.) Both parties corresponded with one Ashok Bansal and Company as the Broker and the submissions of the parties centred around the correspondence between them and the Broker. In order to show that NAFED had accepted the existence of the contracts as well as their binding nature, the Appellant refers to a letter dated 29th July, 2008 sent by NAFED to the Broker requesting that the shipments under the contracts be deferred by the Appellant from August to September, 2008.