SHANKAR VITHOBA DESAI Vs. GAURI ASSOCIATES

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Application has been filed by eleven members of a co- operative housing society, seeking to invoke Sec. 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (" Arbitration Act") in connection with disputes and differences under an agreement for re-development of a building they reside in.

(2.) The agreement in question is a Development Agreement dtd. 29/6/2018 (" Development Agreement") executed between the Dahisar Chunabhatti Panchratna Co-operative Housing Society Limited ("Society") and M/s Gauri Associates AOP ("Developer"). The Applicants are among the 40 members of the Society. A notice dtd. 31/3/2023 from 13 members addressed to both the Society and the Developer, purporting to invoke arbitration, was issued by advocates for these members. The Society has not provided consent to the members on whose behalf the notice was issued, to invoke arbitration on its behalf. The Developer has questioned the authority of those on whose behalf the notice has been issued vide a reply dtd. 18/4/2023.

(3.) Upon hearing the Learned Counsel for the parties and review of the record, in this Court's opinion, arbitration cannot be invoked by individual members or groups of members of the Society for resolving the disputes emanating from the conduct of the Developer, even if such disputes arise out of the import of the Development Agreement. This is for the simple reason that individual members are not parties to the arbitration agreement contained in the Development Agreement.