TMI Blog1994 (9) TMI 313X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... taken from briefly stated the facts are : 2. Sutlej Land Finance P. Ltd. Financiers and Transporters with their registered office at Jalandhar ( the respondents ) filed through its director Shri Ajit Singh Deogan a petition under section 20 of the Indian Arbitration Act, 1940 ( the Act ), against Hoshiarpur Aazd Transport Co. Ltd., Hoshiarpur, through its general manager ( the petitioner ) for reference of the dispute which had arisen between the parties to the sole arbitrator S. Avtar Manmohanjit Singh, Advocate Jalandhar. It was alleged that the petitioner had hired bus No. PNH-3387, T.D.V. 1968 engine No. 312-97-800-1016, chassis No. 342-050-860-6460 on hire purchase basis from respondents, vide hire purchase agreement dated Decem ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... filed an appeal, which was accepted on 23-8-1985. The order of the trial court dated 29-3-1984, was set aside and the case was remanded to the trial court with a direction to recast the issues arising from the pleadings of the parties and then re-decide the matter afresh on the merits after affording proper opportunity to the parties to lead their evidence. After remand, the following issues were farmed : (1) Whether the respondent executed hire purchase agreement in favour of the petitioner ? DPA (2) Whether the matter is liable to be referred to the arbitrator ? DPA (3) Relief. 5. The parties were given opportunities to lead their evidence in support of the issues. The Trial Court decided both the issues in favour of the respond ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tion clause being a part of the original agreement goes with the agreement being void and, therefore, cannot be enforced, it was argued that the petitioner being the owner of the vehicle could not be the hirer of the same. I do not find any substance in this submission. The present was a petition filed under section 20 of the Act, which reads as under : "20. Application to file in court arbitration agreement. (1) Where any persons have entered into an arbitration agreement before the institution of any suit with respect to the subject-matter of the agreement or any part of it, and where a difference has arisen to which the agreement applies, they or any of them, instead of proceeding under Chapter II, may apply to a court having jurisdi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hen the party instead of proceeding under Chapter II of the Act may apply to the court having jurisdiction in the matter for a direction that the agreement be filed in the court. The court after satisfying itself regarding the existence of an arbitration agreement and that a dispute has arisen between the parties in respect of the subject-matter of the agreement shall make an order of reference to the arbitrator appointed by the parties under the agreement or where the parties cannot agree upon an arbitrator, then to an arbitrator appointed by the court. In this case the execution of the agreement is duly proved. The agreement contains clause 22 in which it is provided that all questions and matters in difference relating to the agreement s ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... th regard to the subject-matter of the agreement which is within the jurisdiction of the court. But the court is not concerned in dealing with that application to deal with the question whether the claim of a party to the arbitration agreement is barred by the law of limitation : that question falls within the province of the arbitrator to whom the dispute is referred." (p. 993) 8. In this authority, it was clearly held that once the court reaches its satisfaction regarding the existence of a written agreement which is valid and subsisting duly executed before the institution of the suit and also that a dispute has arisen with regard to the subject-matter of agreement which is within the jurisdiction of the Court it is bound to make the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the jurisdiction of the arbitrator and the same cannot be gone into at this stage of the proceedings. 10. The other submission made by the counsel for the petitioner was that the petitioner was a limited company and its operation is controlled by the Companies Act; that there is no evidence of the loan/debt having been incurred in compliance with section 292 of the Companies Act, 1956, and, thus, the agreement is not binding on the company and its shareholders; that the person who executed/accepted the agreement on behalf of the petitioner did not do so in pursuance to a valid resolution passed in his favour authorising him to execute the agreement. As has been observed by the courts below, the records and proceeding book, etc. of the c ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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