BINOY TRADING CO. Vs. TATA MOTORS FINANCE LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner/award-debtor has filed the present applications under Sec. 34 of The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 for setting aside of two awards dtd. 4/8/2022 and 1/11/2022 passed by the learned sole arbitrator in arbitrations where the petitioner was the respondent. Both the applications involve identical facts. Learned counsel for the respondent in both the applications have argued on the point of maintainability. Hence the applications are being disposed of together.

(2.) The respondent/award-holder has taken a preliminary point of maintainability of the present applications on Sec. 2(1)(e) and 42 of the Act of 1996. The respondent says that the present applications should be filed before the Ld. City Civil Court since the petitioner has already filed a miscellaneous application in that Court. Learned counsel appearing for the respondent also takes the point of pecuniary jurisdiction of the High Court and the City Civil Court as determined by a Notification dtd. 20/3/2020 issued by the Judicial Department of the Government of West Bengal.

(3.) The brief facts of the case is that the petitioner has suffered an award dtd. 1/11/2022 for a principal sum of Rs.82,91,536.50. The respondent filed a post-award application for interim relief under Sec. 9 of the Act before the Ld. City Civil Court on 29/12/2022. An ad-interim order was passed on the same day inter alia authorising the Receiver to take necessary steps with regard to the petitioner's vehicle and that the vehicle would remain in the custody of the Receiver. The petitioner filed an application thereafter on 4/4/2023 connected with the Misc. Case (No. 7612 of 2022) of the respondent praying for dismissal of the Misc. Case and for a direction on the Receiver to handover the vehicle to the petitioner. The present applications were filed for setting aside of the award on 28/4/2023.