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This petition has been filed challenging the order dated 24.04.2014, passed by the Additional District Judge No.3, Jaipur Metropolitan, Jaipur dismissing the petitioner-defendant's (hereinafter the defendant) application under Section 151 CPC praying that the Court first address its application under Section 45 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (hereinafter the Act of 1996) before requiring it to file a written statement to the respondent-plaintiff's (hereinafter the plaintiff) suit for declaration and permanent injunction.

Despite the application under Section 45 of the Act of 1996 having been filed by the defendant seeking reference to the arbitration in terms of Section 14.8 of the local import agreement dated 03.06.2009 and asserting that the civil court had no jurisdiction, reply thereto was not filed by the plaintiff and the trial court continued to adjourn the matter for requiring the defendant to file a written statement in response to the plaint. The ad interim injunction dated 02.04.2013 was also continued. In the circumstances, the defendant filed an application under Section 151 CPC on or about 06.03.2014 praying that an early date be fixed for hearing its application under Section 45 of the Act of 1996 and it was also prayed that till the decision on the said application, time for filing written statement, if warranted subsequent to the court's decision, be extended. It appears that reply to the application under Section 45 of the Act of 1996 laid by the defendant was finally filed by the plaintiff on 11.04.2014 wherein it was submitted that the affidavit purporting to be in support of the application under Section 45 of the Act of 1996 in fact referred not to an application under Section 45 of the Act of 1996 but to one under under Order 7 Rule 10 & 11 CPC. It was submitted that the application under Section 45 of the Act of 1996 was liable to be dismissed on this ground alone. The defendant in the circumstances moved an application under Section 151 CPC admitting to the inadvertent error in filing the affidavit referring to an application under Order 7 Rule 10 & 11 CPC and it filed an affidavit in support of the averments in the application under Section 45 of the Act of 1996.

Vide impugned order dated 24.04.2014, the trial court has held that even though in terms of Section 45 of the Act of 1996, the issue of jurisdiction of the civil court was first required to be addressed and determined, yet as the defendant had been allowed several opportunities to file its written statement to the plaint, another interlocutory application was also pending in the suit and in the circumstances, the defendant was free to take up its objection to the jurisdiction of the civil court in its written statement. It was held that consequently an address to the question of jurisdiction of the civil court on the defendant's application under Section 45 of the Act of 1996 was not warranted in the facts and circumstances of the case although the said question would be determined as a preliminary issue following the filing of the written statement. So holding the application under Section 151 CPC at the instance of the defendant seeking early hearing of its application under Section 45 of the Act of 1996 was dismissed by the court below and the defendant required to file its written statement by the next date. The application under Section 45 of the Act of 1996 remains pending before the court below. Hence this petition.

For the present the writ petition confined to the prayer of the defendant to have its application under Section 45 of the Act of 1996 decided within reasonable time is allowed. The order dated 24.04.2014 dismissing the defendant's application under Section 151 CPC is set aside. The trial court is directed to decide the petitioner's application under Section 45 of the Act of 1996 within a period of three months from the presentation of a certified copy of this order. It is made clear that further proceedings in the plaintiff's suit for declaration and permanent injunction shall remain stayed till the disposal of the defendant's application under Section 45 of the Act of 1996.