OM PARKASH Vs. RADHA KISHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The circumstances, giving rise to this revision petition may be briefly stated as under :-

(2.) There was a partnership firm known and styled as M/s. Tara Shah Rattan Chand, Commission and Forwarding Agents at Pathankot. The parties were its partners. Since some differences arose between them, the dispute respecting dissolution of partnership and other matters relating thereto was referred for arbitration on August 27, 1970, to Bishan Dass and Inder Ram, who had been appointed as Arbitrators by them. They (Bishan Dass and Inder Ram) made the award on October 24, 1970, and communicated the same to the parties on November 27, 1970. Neither of the parties took any step to get the award filed and made it the rule of the Court or to get it set aside. Radha Kishan (now respondent 1) instituted the suit for dissolution of partnership and rendition of accounts against the petitioners, Smt. Kaushalya Devi and Rattan Chand, on May 24, 1971. The petitioners moved an application under section 34, Arbitration Act (hereinafter called the Act) for staying the proceedings in the suit. The said application was dismissed on May 9, 1972. The appeal, taken by the petitioners against the dismissal of that application, failed on April 28, 1973, and the revision petition against the said order was dismissed by this Court in limine on August 6, 1973.

(3.) The petitioners moved an application under Order 6, rule 17, Civil Procedure Code, for permission to amend the written statement on February 8, 1974, (hereinafter called the application for amendment), so as to raise the plea of estoppel and non-maintainability of the suit on the ground that the dispute had already been referred to arbitration and even award had been pronounced. The proposed amendment of the written statement reads like this :-