ARCHITECTURAL GRIDS Vs. IMPROVEMENT TRUST, LUDHIANA AND ORS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition has been filed by the Petitioner under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 ( for short 'the Act') for appointment of sole Arbitrator to adjudicate upon the dispute between the parties.

(2.) The arbitration Clause 10 contained in the agreement dated 20.6.2001 entered into between the parties reads as under:

(3.) The brief facts of the case are that Respondent No. 1 prepared a scheme for setting up City Centre at Ludhiana. In September, 1999, applications were invited from the Architects by giving an advertisement in the Press to submit their designs/development schemes for the said City Centre, at their own costs and risks and that offer was open for all. The project cum development scheme submitted by the Petitioner, on presentation given by the Architects of the Petitioner company, was accepted by the Jury constituted by Respondent No. 1 for the said purpose. The Petitioner was even given first prize of Rs. 2 lacs by Respondent No. 1 for the design submitted by it. As per the case set up by the Petitioner, Respondent No. 1 further asked it to work upon the said design development phase of the project and that the Petitioner besides working on the said development phase also actively participated and played an important role in explaining to the other authorities connected with the grant of sanction for change of land use for development of the city centre and for that purpose the Petitioner had made several site visits and also visited the office of the Chief Town Planner and other local body government offices to explain the scheme and design and with the efforts of the Petitioner, C.L.U. was granted to Respondent No. 1. It is alleged in the petition that with effect from 17.12.1999 onwards, Petitioner started working on the design, though no written contract was signed. Some of the drawings were submitted by the Petitioner on 28.6.2000 to Respondent No. 1 for obtaining approval from the Chief Town Planner and Local Government, Punjab. Ultimately, on 20.6.2001, a written agreement was signed and executed between the Petitioner and Respondent No. 1. The Petitioner continued working on the project and part running payments for the work done by the Petitioner were also averred to be made by Respondent No. 1 in September, 2001 and January, 2002. The Petitioner further averred in the petition that it submitted large models of the project to Respondent No. 1 besides the photographs etc. and the process of working on the project continued till 11.11.2005 on which date Respondent No. 1 wrote to the Petitioner to contact the Chairman of Improvement Trust in the first week of December, 2005 to fix a personal meeting to discuss the various issues and in the meantime not to make any correspondence. On 12.01.2006, Respondent No. 1 wrote a letter to the Petitioner informing that the project had been allotted to the 'Today Homes & Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd.' and therefore, the Trust did not need any of the services of the Petitioner and thus concluded the agreement.