CHANDRAKALA KUNJBEHARILAL KAGZI Vs. SHARDA TEXTILE MILLS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY this Petition, the Petitioner seeks to set aside the Award dated 2nd January, 1990 which has been filed in this Court and numbered as Award No.67 of 1990.

(2.) IN or about the month of June 1987, the Petitioner had filed Suit No.1654 of 1987 on the Original Side of this Court against the Respondents, inter alia, for a declaration that the partnership constituted by and between the Petitioner and the Respondents in the firm name and style of 'Messrs. Sharda Textile Mills' continued to subsist and the petitioner continued to be a partner therein and was entitled to the accounts of the assets and properties thereof as per the terms and conditions reduced to writing in the Deed of Partnership dated 1st November, 1985. The Petitioner had also sought alternative relief of declaration to the effect that if the Court held that the Respondents 2 to 5 had retired from the said partnership firm from 1st March 1986, then the Petitioner and 1st Respondent had continued to be the only partners in the said partnership firm and as such, the petitioner was entitled to rendition of accounts of the assets and properties belonging to the partnership firm and also to manage the affairs thereof. The Petitioner had also prayed that if the Court came to the conclusion that the said partnership firm stood dissolved with effect from 1st March, 1986, the Respondents be ordered and decreed to render true and proper accounts of the said partnership firm including of all the assets and properties belonging thereto and for determination of the share of the petitioner therein as also for payment thereof to the Petitioner.

(3.) THE said Suit No.1654 of 1987 was placed on board for directions and on 16th February 1987 the learned Single Judge of this Court granted time to the Respondents to file written statement on or before 27th March, 1989. Since the Respondents did not file any written statement in the suit, the petitioner took out Notice of Motion No.1484 of 1989 in the suit for judgment for want of written statement. Pending hearing of the said Notice of Motion, the Petitioner received a letter dated 4th July 1989 from Shri MN Chandurkar, learned Arbitrator, directing the petitioner to appear before him on 20th July, 1989 as he was appointed as the sole Arbitrator in the matter. The Petitioner through her constituted attorney appeared before the Arbitrator on 20th July 1989. A short adjournment was granted by the Arbitrator and the hearing of the reference was fixed on 27th July, 1989. On 27th July, 1989, the Petitioner was represented before the Arbitrator by her learned Counsel and a letter was presented to the Arbitrator objecting to his jurisdiction to arbitrate on the ground that the said Notice of Motion No.1484 of 1989 was pending in this Court and that the Arbitrator could not proceed with the reference without the order being passed by this Court in that Suit. The learned Counsel for the Petitioner was heard by the Arbitrator on the question of jurisdiction and the objection to the jurisdiction of the Arbitrator raised by the Petitioner was rejected by the Arbitrator as per the order contained in the minutes of the meeting held on 27th July, 1989. The Arbitrator directed that the Plaint filed by the petitioner in the said Suit, a copy whereof was forwarded in the compilation sent by the Advocates for the Respondents to the Arbitrator, be treated as Statement of Claim and the Respondents were directed to file a Reply within two weeks therefrom. Other directions regarding inspection of documents and fixation of Arbitrator's fees were also given. The hearing of the reference was adjourned to 5th September, 1989.