Demerara Distilleries Pvt. Ltd. vs Demerara Distilleries Ltd. on 24 November, 2014
"5. Ms. Pahwa, learned Counsel for the respondents submitted that her
only objection, to the petition, was that the petitioner has not exhausted
the avenue of amicable resolution, contemplated by Clause 12 of the Share
Buyback Agreement. I am not inclined to agree with this submission. The
recital of facts, as set out in the petition, indicate that efforts at trying to
resolve the disputes, amicably were made, but did not succeed. Even
otherwise, the Supreme Court in Demarara Distilleries Pvt. Ltd. v
Demerara Distilleries Ltd. and this Court, in its judgment in Ravindra
Kumar Verma v. BPTP Ltd., opined that relegation of the parties to the
avenue of amicable resolution, when the Court is moved under Section
11(6) of the 1996 Act, would be unjustified, where such relegation would
merely be in the nature of an empty formality. The arbitration clause in the
present case does not envisage any formal regimen or protocol for
amicable resolution, such as issuance of a notice in that regard and
completion of any stipulated time period thereafter, before which arbitral
proceedings could be invoked. In the absence of any such stipulation, I am
of the opinion, following the law laid down in Demarara Distilleries Pvt.