Madras High Court
Dinasari Ltd. vs Hussain Ali & Sons And Anr. on 4 January, 1951
Equivalent citations: AIR1951MAD879, (1951)1MLJ476, AIR 1951 MADRAS 879(1)
JUDGMENT Govinda Menon, J.
1. The written agreement on which the applt. relies is not admitted by the resp. It is not an agreement as contemplated Under Section 2(a), Arbitration Act. It has been held by Kania J. (as he then was) in Shriram Hanutram v. Mohanlal & Co., I. L. R. (1940) Bom. 249 at p. 253 that the existence of an admitted agreement is a necessary pre-requisite for an arbitrator undertaking to decide the dispute. Here in this case the written agreement is denied & it is not open, therefore, to the arbitrators to decide whether the agreement as such exists or not. If the arbitrators have no jurisdiction to decide that point, it necessarily follows that they are not competent to function as well. In such circumstances the suit cannot be stayed Under Section 34, Arbitration Act. The decision of the lower Ct. is correct & the appeal is dismissed with costs.