RAKESH S. KATHOTIA Vs. MILTON GLOBAL LTD.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Arbitration Petition, filed under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 ("Act"), seeks to restrain the Respondents from committing breach of a Joint Venture Agreement ("JVA") between the Petitioners and the Respondents.

(2.) The Petitioners' case may be briefly stated thus :

(3.) The main defence of the Respondents is that there is no identity of the parties to the arbitration agreement contained in the JVA and the parties hereto against whom relief is sought in the petition. If the parties against whom relief is sought in the petition are not parties to the arbitration agreement, then under the principle of the Supreme court ruling in the case of Sukanya Holdings (P) Ltd. vs. Jayesh H. Pandya, 2003 5 SCC 531 the subject matter of the Petition is not covered by the arbitration agreement. It would then be impermissible to grant relief to the Petitioners in a petition under Section 9 of the Act.