Calcutta High Court
Shree Balasaria Construction Pvt. Ltd vs Ramesh Kumar Nangalia And Ors on 26 June, 2013
Author: Sanjib Banerjee
Bench: Sanjib Banerjee
AP No.245 of 2013
IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
Ordinary Original Civil Jurisdiction
ORIGINAL SIDE
SHREE BALASARIA CONSTRUCTION PVT. LTD.
Versus
RAMESH KUMAR NANGALIA AND ORS.
BEFORE:
The Hon'ble JUSTICE SANJIB BANERJEE
Date : 26th June, 2013.
Appearance:
Mr. S. N. Mitra, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Kumar Gupta, Adv.
Mr. R. Dhara, Adv.
..for the petitioner
Mr. D. N. Chatterjee, Adv.
..for the respondents
Mr. Sakya Sen, Adv.
Ms. Priyanka S. Tibrewal, Adv.
..for the State The Court : The State was directed to be given notice upon the respondents bringing it to the notice of the Court that the matrix contract containing the arbitration clause could not be looked into unless it was registered upon due stamp duty being paid thereon. The State has filed an affidavit indicating that stamp duty would be payable on the document as on date. However, the provision referred to by the State was introduced by way of an amendment of the year 2012. There is no dispute that the agreement containing 2 the arbitration clause was executed between the parties in the year 2007. The physical existence of the agreement has not been questioned by the respondents.
The respondents insist that the petitioner is liable to pay stamp duty in excess of Rs.85 lakh on the document at today's rates.
Since it is evident that the document did not require registration at the time that it was executed and there does not appear to be any apparent evasion of stamp duty, the arbitration clause in the agreement can be looked into in course of the present request under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.
There is no dispute that the petitioner has invoked the arbitration clause but the arbitrator named therein has declined to take up the reference. Since the parties have failed to agree on the constitution of the arbitral tribunal upon the named arbitrator declining the reference, AP No.245 of 2013 is allowed by referring the disputes between the parties covered by the arbitration agreement to the arbitration of Mr. S. P. Sarkar, Senior Advocate, at a consolidated remuneration of Rs.7 lakh to be shared by the petitioner and the respondents in equal measure. The parties hope that the reference will take no more than six months from the date of the completion of the pleadings.
There will be no order as to costs.
Urgent certified photocopies of this order, if applied for, be supplied to the parties subject to compliance with all requisite formalities.
(SANJIB BANERJEE, J.) bp.
A.R(C.R)