(1.) This appeal under Sec. 50 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (for short, "the Act, 1996") is at the instance of the original defendant No.1 and is directed against the order passed by the Small Cause Court (Commercial Court), Surat, dated 04/02/2020 below Exhibit : 24 in the Commercial Civil Suit No.14 of 2019 instituted by the respondents Nos.1 to 13 respectively (original plaintiffs), by which the application Exhibit : 24 filed by the appellant herein, under Sec. 45 of the Act, 1996 to refer the parties to arbitration, came to be rejected.
(2.) The facts giving rise to this appeal may be summarised as under:
(3.) For the sake of convenience, the parties before us shall be referred to as the plaintiffs and defendant.