RAJ KUMAR Vs. NARAIN DASS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS petition has been directed against the order dated 29-1-1998 passed by Civil Judge (JD) Panipat. By this order, the learned Civil Judge has dismissed the objections filed by the petitioners-judgment debtors under Section 47 of Code of Civil Procedure. In this case the respondents-Decree Holders filed a suit for possession of certain land. The suit was decreed by the learned trial Court. Aggrieved by the judgment and decree passed by the learned trial Court, the petitioners-judgment debtors filed appeal bearing No. 123 of 1992 in the Court of learned Additional District Judge, Panipat. During the pendency of the appeal, the petitioners-judgment debtors moved an application for withdrawal of the appeal on the ground that the parties to the appeal had referred their dispute to the Arbitrators who had already started the proceedings. The learned Counsel for the respondents gave a statement that he had no objection in case the appeal is allowed to be dismissed as withdrawn. After recording the statement of the parties, the learned Additional District Judge, Panipat by his order dated 18-12-1992 (copy Annexure P-3) dismissed the appeal as withdrawn.

(2.) ACCORDING to the respondent-Decree Holders, due to non-cooperation of the judgment debtors, the arbitration proceedings could not be completed. Accordingly, they filed the execution petition for executing the decree passed in 1987. After initiation of the execution proceedings, the petitioners judgment debtors filed the objections which have been dismissed by the impugned order dated 29-1-1998, as stated herein above.

(3.) THE learned Counsel further submitted that it was always open to parties to refer a dispute to arbitration without the intervention of the Court. He, therefore, contended that even if the dispute has not been referred to arbitration by the learned Additional District Judge, Panipat and has been referred to arbitration out of the Court, yet it was binding on the parties. In support of this submission, the learned Counsel placed reliance on a judgment of the Supreme Court in Narain Dass v. Vallabh Dass (1971 (3) SCC 642 ).