SANJIV KHANNA, J. - (1.) This judgment decides the reference to three Judges made vide order dated 28th February, 2019 in Civil Appeal No. 2402 of 2019 titled Vidya Drolia and Others v. Durga Trading Corporation, 2019 SCC OnLine SC 358 as it doubts the legal ratio expressed in Himangni Enterprises v. Kamaljeet Singh Ahluwalia, (2017) 10 SCC 706 that landlord-tenant disputes governed by the provisions of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, are not arbitrable as this would be contrary to public policy.
(2.) A deeper consideration of the order of reference reveals that the issues required to be answered relate to two aspects that are distinct and yet interconnected, namely: (i) meaning of non-arbitrability and when the subject matter of the dispute is not capable of being resolved through arbitration; and (ii) the conundrum - "who decides" - whether the court at the reference stage or the arbitral tribunal in the arbitration proceedings would decide the question of non-arbitrability. The second aspect also relates to the scope and ambit of jurisdiction of the court at the referral stage when an objection of non-arbitrability is raised to an application under Section 8 or 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (for short, the 'Arbitration Act').
(3.) We are not reproducing and examining the factual matrix, as we are only answering the legal issues raised. However, we would refer, in brief, to the legal reasoning and the ratio in Himangni Enterprises and the counter view expressed in the order of reference in Vidya Drolia.;