SUNDARAM FINANCE LIMITED Vs. S.M.THANGARAJ

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Challenging the order of the Executing Court / II Additional Subordinate Judge, Coimbatore, dtd. 14/11/2024, suo motu, dismissing the Execution Petition in E.P.No.640 of 2018 in Arbitration case No. CP No.RJ/SF/302/2017, the decree holder has come up with the present revision petition.

(2.) The revision petitioner is the claimant and the respondents are the respondents in the arbitration case in CP No.RJ/SF/302/2017 arose out of a dispute over a loan transaction. The revision petitioner, a financial institution, referred the matter to the sole arbitrator to adjudicate the dispute that arose between the respondents and themselves. The sole arbitrator passed an award on 13/2/2018 whereby the respondents were directed to pay to the revision petitioner a sum of Rs.1,68,047.26 together with interest from 31/7/2017 till date of realization of the said amount in full and also to pay a sum of Rs.1700.00 towards arbitrator's fee and a sum of Rs.800.00 towards expenses incurred by the arbitrator. On the basis of the award, the revision petitioner initiated an execution proceedings to get executed the award which was taken on file by the learned II Additional Subordinate Judge, Coimbatore, in E.P.No.640 of 2018.

(3.) The learned Judge, however, suo motu, dismissed the execution petition by order dtd. 14/11/2024 holding that the arbitrator was appointed unilaterally and that the award made by the sole arbitrator is invalid due to a lack of inherent jurisdiction; as a result, the award made by the sole arbitrator in the arbitration case in CP No. RJ/SF/302/2017 was not enforceable and could not be regarded as a valid award.