VIRAJ HOLDINGS Vs. MOTILAL OSWAL SECURITIES PRIVATE LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner Viraj Holdings challenges the Arbitral Award dated 18-1-2000 made by the arbitrator at the National Stock Exchange. By the Award, the learned arbitrator has held that respondent No. 1 M/s. Motilal Oswal Securities Pvt. Ltd. is entitled to receive a sum of Rs. 21,66,489. 73.

(2.) THE first ground of challenge made by Mr. Kamdar, learned Counsel for the petitioner, is that the arbitrator had no jurisdiction to entertain the claim made by the respondent since admittedly no agreement between the petitioner as a sub-broker and the respondent as a broker was executed between the parties. According to the learned Counsel, even if such an agreement was not executed, an arbitrator at the National Stock Exchange would have jurisdiction provided a constituent-broker agreement was executed between the parties. Admittedly, none of these two agreements have been executed between the parties. There is no dispute on behalf of the respondent that the statement of claim is not made on the basis of the aforesaid two agreements. However, according to the learned Counsel for the petitioner, the subject-matter of the dispute was not capable of arbitration since the claim was made by the respondent in respect of transactions for which even contract notes were not executed. According to the learned Counsel for the petitioner, even if such contract notes were executed in respect of the transactions, the arbitrator never got jurisdiction.

(3.) IN order to appreciate the contention of the learned Counsel for the petitioner, it is necessary to set out the provisions pertaining to the issue of a contract. Regulation 3. 5 of the Regulations framed by the National Stock Exchange reads as follows :-