GADDARMAL HIRALAL Vs. CHANDRABHAN AGARWAL AND CO

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal by Messrs Gaddarmal Hira Lal through Roshan Lal and also by Roshan Lal, defendants, against the order dtd. 28/2/1963 of the Additional Civil judge of Agra allowing in part the application under Sec. 20 of the Arbitration Act of Messrs. Chandrabhan Agarwal and Co., plaintiff, by referring the disputes relating to the forward transaction of Laha only to arbitration by a panel of arbitrators to be constituted under the term and byelaws of the Agra Merchants' Chamber, Ltd., Agra (to be referred hereinafter as the 'Chamber').

(2.) The Chamber has its own byelaws, one of which prescribes compulsory arbitration in disputes not only between the members thereof but also between the members and non-members. The plaintiff firm is a trading member of the Chamber and it carries on the business of for ward transaction through 'dalals registered with the Chamber The plaintiff's case is that the de fendants entered into certain forward transactions with the plaintiff by retaining the contract forms or returning them duly signed One of the conditions of the contract printed on the reverse of the contract forms was thai the rules of the Chamber and also the commercial rules and conditions were acceptable to the defendants. The plaintiff's case further is that numerous contract forms were sent to the defendant firm some of which were returned duly signed and the others were not returned and in view of the contract, non-returu of the contract forms amounted to acceptance, and the contract form* were not only evidence of the transactions in question but also showed that there was an agreement for compulsory arbitration.

(3.) When disputes arose between the parlies, the plaintiff moved the present petition under Sec. 20 of the Arbitration Act for the filing of the arbitration agreement and also for reference of the dispute to arbitration.