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2014 (2) TMI 1317 - HC - Indian LawsArbitration and conciliation - winding up petition - Held that:- As in Supreme Court in Amalgamated Commercial Trades (P) Ltd Vs.Krishnaswami(A.C.K.) 1965 (1) TMI 16 - SUPREME COURT OF INDIA) wherein it was held that a winding up petition is not a legitimate means of seeking to enforce payment of a debt which is bona fide disputed by the company, opined that there is no overwhelming public interest to continue the winding up proceedings and deny the opportunity to the parties to settle their dispute through arbitration. The learned single Judge "under the facts and circumstances" referred the dispute to arbitration in view of Clause- 16 of arbitration agreement between the parties. Interestingly, the learned single Judge has referred to the judgment in Haryana Telecom Ltd (1 supra), but did not explain as to how an order allowing the application under Section 8 of the Arbitration Act could be justified in the face of the dicta laid down by the Supreme Court in the said case. It is one thing to dismiss the Company Petition on its own merits if the Court feels that there is a bona fide dispute, while it is quite another thing to refer the parties to arbitration on an application made under Section 8 of the Arbitration Act, merely because the debt is disputed. In the face of the authoritative pronouncements of the Apex Court as referred above, the High Court while dealing with a Company Petition filed under the Companies Act cannot entertain an application under Section 8 of the Arbitration Act and compel the unwilling party to submit himself to the jurisdiction of the Arbitrator.
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