GANGA RAM Vs. RADHA KISHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal against the order of the Subordinate Judge, Amritsar, making an award a rule of the Court under Section 17 of the Indian Arbitration Act, 1940. The question raised in appeal before me is that the application upon which the award was made a rule of the Court was barred by time and was, therefore, liable to be dismissed.

(2.) THE facts briefly are that parties to this litigation entered into an agreement to refer the dispute between them to the arbitration of Girdhari Lal arbitrator on 20-1-43. On the next day, Girdhari Lal made the award which was signed by both parties and subsequently registered. No further action appears to have been taken by either party but on 23-6-44 i. e., more than a year later Radha Kishan, one of the parties, filed a suit for a declaration that the property which was the subject-matter of the award should not be dealt with by Ganga Ram who is the present appellant before me. This suit was decreed but an appeal was allowed by the Senior Subordinate Judge on 30-10-47. A second appeal filed in the High Court also failed and the result was that Radha Kishan's suit stood dismissed. In the meantime i. e., on 2-2-48 Radha Kishan filed an application in the Court praying that the award be made a rule of the Court. In the application, he relied upon Section 17 of the Indian Arbitration Act and said that the agreement in original was being filed with his petition. Objection was taken by the respondent (the appellant before me) that this application was really an application under Section 14 of the Act and was, therefore, barred by time. THE Subordinate Judge came to the conclusion that it was not an application under Section 14 but an application under Section 17 and decided the point of limitation against the appellant. Some other points arising in the case were also decided and the final decision was that the award was made a rule of the Court.

(3.) THIS appeal, therefore, must be allowed and I set aside the order of the Subordinate Judge and dismiss Radha Kishan's application with costs.