DEEPAK Vs. VIRENDRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) All the applicants have invoked the jurisdiction of this Court by filing the above arbitration cases under Sec. 11 of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 seeking the appointment of an arbitrator to resolve the dispute with respondent No.1 to 4(in AC no 84/2018).

(2.) The facts of the case, in short, are as under: -

(3.) The non-applicants have filed the reply opposing the aforesaid prayer on the ground that applicants have to right to invoke arbitration clause No.11 of the partnership deed dtd. 27/10/2015 as they are no more partners in the Firm. From the language of Clause - 11 of the last partnership deed it is clear that disputes between the four partners are liable to be referred to the arbitrator, hence, applications are liable to be dismissed. By way of additional reply, non-applicants No.1 to 4 have also raised alegal issue that partnership deed dtd. 27/10/2015 is also a deed of retirement of the applicant - Deepak Khandelwal, hence, the stamp duty as provided under Article 49 Schedule 1A of the Stamp Act, 1899 is liable to be paid in the partnership deed for invocation of the arbitration clause. As per Article 49-B of the Stamp Act where on the dissolution of partnership or retirement of a partner, any immovable property is taken as his share by a partner other than a partner who brought in that property as his share of contribution in the partnership, the same duty as a conveyance (No.25) on the market value of such property is liable to be paid. It is further submitted by the learned counsel for the applicant - Deepak Khandelwal, vide partnership deed dtd. 27/10/2015 has accepted that he will be getting 16000 sq. ft. land of the Firm on quitting from the firm,thus, as per Article 25 of the said Act, the stamp duty of 5% of the market value of the property ie 16000 sqft land is liable to be paid by him to invoke the arbitration clause. It is further submitted that that market value of 16000 sq. ft. of land comes to Rs.1,28,00,000.00 and on which the stamp duty of Rs.6,40,000.00 is liable to be paid and unless the applicant-Deepak Khandelwal gets the deed dtd. 27/10/2015 impounded, he is not entitled to invoke the arbitration Clause - 11.