FIRST NATIONAL BANK LTD Vs. BERI BROTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY agreement, Ex. A-4, made on 21-5-1953, the First National Bank Ltd., Ambala Cantonment, hereinafter called the Bank, Messrs. Berry Brothers, Hosiery Manufacturers and Suppliers of Ludhiana, Shri Parshant Rai and Shri Tulsi Ram referred the dispute between them to the arbitration of Diwan Ram Kishan Khosla, Advocate, Ludhiana. That agreement provided inter alia that expenses of the arbitration such as stamp for award and its filing charges and other expenses including the arbitrator's fee shall be borne by the Bank and Messrs. Berry Brothers. In the agreement of reference neither the amount of fee of the arbitrator nor the amount to be paid by each party was fixed. On 7-12-1953 the arbitrator gave the award.. In para. 11 of the award the arbitrator said :

(2.) ON 30-02-1953, the Bank applied under Section 14, Indian Arbitration Act, 1940, hereinafter called the Act, that the arbitrator may be ordered to file in Court the award or a signed copy thereof together with all depositions and documents which may have been taken and proved before him. In the proceedings that were taken on the application of the Bank under Section 14 of the Act respondents filed- objections under Section 30 of the Act. ON the objections of the respondents a number of issues arose but in these proceedings we are concerned with issue No. 5 reading :

(3.) IN giving evidence the arbitrator stated in examination-in-chief :