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2013 (9) TMI 728 - DELHI HIGH COURTApplicability of Section 8(1) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act - Oppression and Mismanagement u/s 397 and 398 of Companies Act – Held that:- There was absolutely no merit in the appeal - The appellant, as pointed by the CLB, had undertook and agreed before the CLB that it would bear the entire fees payable to JLL who were appointed by the CLB to carry out the work of valuation of the land. There were cross-petitions before the CLB containing mutual allegations of oppression and mismanagement - It was in one of those petitions that the CLB, in an attempt to ascertain the fair price of the shares of the Indian company, appointed JLL as the valuer for valuing the land as part of the process of valuing the shares - Thus the mater which was the subject of an arbitration agreement between the appellant and JLL was not the action which was brought before the CLB - The order passed by the CLB was an order seeking an expert opinion regarding the fair price of the shares of the Indian Company which was to be determined keeping in view of the possibility of resolving the disputes between the parties amicably - Therefore, section 8(1) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 was not attracted to the dispute between the appellant and JLL. Moreover, it was the appellant which approached the CLB with an application seeking refund of the first instalment of the fee of Rs.16 paid to JLL and also seeking directions from the CLB appointing another valuer, other than JLL - After approaching the CLB with the application and having lost it, it now contended that the CLB had no jurisdiction to pass the impugned order - Its stand was contradictory. The appellant had sent a communication to JLL requesting for appointment of an arbitrator and that this amounted to commencement of arbitral proceedings under section 21 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act and therefore from this date the CLB lost jurisdiction to adjudicate upon the matter - I have already discussed how section 8(1) of the aforesaid Act was not attracted to the dispute between appellant and JLL. Therefore, the CLB was well within its jurisdiction to have decided. The provisions of section 8(1) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 were not attracted to the dispute between the appellant and JLL I do not think it necessary to consider the other subsidiary arguments advanced on behalf of both the sides – Decided against Petitioner.
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