INDIAN TELEPHONE INDUSTRIES LIMITED Vs. RAJ ENTERPRISES

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner is a Government Company within the meaning of Section 617 of the Companies Act and is engaged in manufacturing of Telephones and its related accessories. Respondent No. 1 is a partnership firm engaged in the business of supply of raw materials. M/s Raj Enterprises-opposite party No. 1 earlier filed a writ petition No. 1513 (MB) of 1995 for giving a direction to the Petitioner to pay the bills submitted by it towards certain goods/materials supplied by it. The aforesaid writ petition was dismissed as not maintainable. Thereafter the Firm preferred a Regular Suit No. 258 of 1996 for declaration of payment of Rs. 24,18,435/- due upon the Petitioner. The Government Company i.e. Petitioner filed its written statement and set up a counter claim of Rs. 23,55,772.28. The Firm moved an application in the aforesaid suit for referring the dispute for Arbitration before the Industry Facilitation Council but the same was rejected by the Trial Court on 15.11.2000. The said order of the Trial Court was assailed in Civil Revision No. 13 of 2001. During the pendency of the civil revision, the Firm moved an Arbitration Petition before the U.P. Industry Facilitation Council on 4.2.2001, which was registered as Case No. 1FC/04/01. Against this petition, Petitioner raised objections regarding its maintainability of the petition before the Council and about the jurisdiction of the Arbitrator, in the meantime, the answering Respondent got the Civil Revision dismissed as not pressed vide order dated 4.5.2002. U.P. Industry Facilitation Council [in short referred to as 'Council'] passed an Award in favour of the Firm. Feeling aggrieved by the illegal and unjustified Award, Petitioner preferred objections under Section 34 of the Act, 1996 but the same were rejected by the District Judge vide its order dated 9.2.2010.

(2.) Now, the Petitioner has assailed the Award dated 10.10.2006 passed by the U.P. Industry Facilitation Council, Kanpur and the order dated 9.2.2010 passed by the District Judge.

(3.) Shri Krishna Chandra, Counsel for the Petitioner has submitted that pursuant to the order of the writ Court, the Petitioner had filed a Civil Suit No. 258 of 1996 before the Civil Judge (Senior Division) Rae-bareli, wherein the Firm made an application dated 24.8.2000 for referring the dispute to the Industry Facilitation Council but the same was dismissed vide order dated 15.11.2000. Thereafter the answering Respondent filed a Civil Revision against the said order but got the same dismissed as not pressed and as such the order dated 15.11.2000 rejecting the prayer for referring the dispute to the Council attained finality and is binding between the parties.