CHETAN IRON LLP Vs. NRC LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a petition filed under Sec. 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (for short "the Act") whereby the petitioner has prayed for interim measures pending the arbitral proceedings. The dispute between the parties has arisen under a contract for sale of scrap dated 21 September 2021 titled as "Scrap Sale Order" (for short 'the contract'), issued by the respondent in favour of the petitioner, interalia for a sale of scrap material (Reinforcement Steel, Structural Steel, SS, Aluminum etc.) of the following description as set out:-

(2.) It also appears to be not in dispute that the parties consented to the following addition to be made to the contract on 26 October 2021.

(3.) The contract provides for general terms and conditions. Clause (3) thereof is the arbitration agreement between the parties. Clause (5) provides for 'Validity of the Contract' to provide that the validity of the contract would be upto 30/06/2022. It is provided that the petitioner (buyer) should lift the scrap items from the identified areas on regular basis and on accumulation of scrap materials. It further provides that termination from either side will require 15 days notice in advance. The other relevant clause is Clause 19 which provides that the sale shall be on "as is where is basis" and on "ground clearance basis", and provides that the items shall be cleared without sorting or removal of any part, and a pick and choose arrangement of collection would not be permitted. It also provides that entire lots should be cleared as directed and that lots shown should be completely removed and the site should be cleared fully and certified by the designated officer. Clause 20 provides that at the time of removal of Scrap material, if any usable/good material is found, the respondent would have right to hold/retain those materials. In the course of execution of the contract, in regard to the payments received from the petitioner, the respondent maintained a ledger account of the petitioner, a copy of which is annexed at 'Exhibit F' of the petition, which shows that the petitioner had paid an amount of Rs.2,14,11,212.00 and in addition to that it had paid an advance amount of Rs.21,96,468.00 which was the credit balance available to the petitioner in such account.