KANHAIYA LAL CHAUBE Vs. JANGI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The parties are Chaubes, residing at Muttra By virtue of a registered award of arbitration, dated the 4 May 1910, the arbitrators made a partition of the joint property held by them and another branch of the family represented by Munni Lal and Krishna; and in order to equalize the lots of certain house properties to the present suit inter se, they directed that the defendant shall pay Rs. 1,400 as compensation to the plaintiff and that such payment shall be treated as a charge on a shop specified in the award, which was allotted to the defendant.

(2.) The defendant did not pay the money he was directed to pay by the award, and the present suit was consequently filed by the plaintiff for the recovery of the same by the sale of the property charged. The Courts below have decreed the claim, and the question for determination in this appeal is whether the arbitrators were competent to declare a charge by the award on the shop allotted to the defendant. If they were competent to create a charge, the claim was admittedly within time. If they were not so competent, the claim was obviously barred by limitation.

(3.) Where certain contending parties agree to refer their disputes to arbitration, the arbitrators exercise the authority which has been delegated to them by the agreement of reference. They cannot go outside the agreement of reference, but within the ambit of the reference itself they can exercise all the powers for the purpose of settling the matters in difference between the parties, which the parties could have, subject to usual formalities exercised themselves, if they had chosen to come to an amicable settlement by mutual agreement. No formalities are, however, required in the case of a charge.