S HARCHARAN SINGH KALRA Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) AN application under section 14 of the Jammu and Kashmir Arbitration Act, seeking a direction to the arbitrator for filing the award made by him on 28 -11 -1974, in the court, and with a further prayer that the petitioner be afforded an opportunity to file objections, after the award is filed in the court, for setting aside the same was made by the petitioner through his counsel Shri R. P. Bakhshi. Notice was issued to the learned Arbitrator by Jaswant Singh J (as my Lord the Chief Justice then was). The award was consequently filed in the court and the petitioner thereupon, through his counsel, on 24 -2 -1975, filed an application under sections 30/33 of the Arbitration Act, for setting aside the award made by the arbitrator. Notice of that application was given to the respondents and on 20 -3 -1975, they filed their objections to the application under sections 30/33 of the Arbitration Act. Prior to this, on 6 -1 -1975, the respondent had also filed an application with the prayer that the award be made a rule of the court and the judgment and decree in terms of the award be passed. After the objections to the application for setting aside the award were filed, the case was directed to be put up for framing of issues on a date to be fixed by the Deputy Registrar by the Honble Chief Justice Mr. Jaswant Singh. The case then came up before me on 22 -3 -75, when an objection was taken by the learned counsel for the respondents that the application under section SO/ 33 of the Arbitration Act for setting aside the award did not bear the proper court fee, and as such, the same could not be adjudicated upon. This objection had not been taken in the objections filed by the respondents on 20 -3 -1975, but since it involved the determination of a question of law regarding the proper court fee leviable on an application under sections 30/33 of the Arbitration Act, the respondents were permitted to raise that objection at the time of hearing and with the consent of the learned counsel for the parties, the following preliminary issue was framed: Whether the application under sections 30/33 of the Arbitration Act bears the proper court fee? if not what is its effect on the application.

(2.) THEREAFTER the case was posted for hearing, since the learned counsel for the parties, submitted that no evidence was required to be led for deciding the preliminary -issue.

(3.) I have heard Mr. R. P. Bakhshi, the learned counsel for the petitioner, and Mr. R. D. Jamwal, the learned counsel for the respondents.