(1.) By consent of the parties, all the applications are treated as on the day's list as New Motion. Formal service of the notice of motion is waived.
(2.) Three applications have been taken out - two by the plaintiff being numbered T 453 of 2002 and T 448 of 2002 whereas defendant Nos. 18 and 19 have taken out an application being G.A. No. 3180 of 2002 under Sec. 8 of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996. Since Mr. Kapoor has moved this application in order of time first, I shall deal with this application first. This application has been taken out on the strength of an arbitration clause which has been incorporated in the Deed of Partnership itself. The said clause reads as under :
(3.) Mr. Kapoor submits that the language of Sec. 8 is very clear which is mandatory in nature. Once the Court finds that there exists an arbitration agreement, the Court has no option but to refer the matter to arbitration unlike under the provisions of the old Act of 1940. He has referred to disputes raised in the plaint itself. He has shown me various documents particularly the plaint in support of his contention that the disputes mentioned therein are covered by the arbitration agreement which is wide enough to take care of all kinds of disputes not only amongst the signatory partners but also between the partners on the one hand and legal representatives of deceased partners on the other. He contends that the plaintiff claims to be a legal representative of one of the signatories of partnership deed and therefore he is bound by the arbitration agreement. He further contends that his clients have not submitted any statement on the substance of the dispute and it is the other party who might have submitted but his clients are not bound by the submissions of the statement of dispute made by the other party. Of course, he is candid enough as he says that he has not been able to file the original arbitration agreement which is mandatory requirement under Sub-section (2) of Sec. 8 of the said Act. His contention is that in view of the decision of a learned single Judge of this Court rendered in the case of I.T.C. Classic Finance Ltd. Vs. (sic) reported in AIR 1987 Calcutta that once a copy of the arbitration agreements is submitted, this is good enough to satisfy the requirments of the aforesaid sub-section.