D.N.Roy, J. - (1.) THESE are two cross appeals the one by the plaintiff and the other by the defendants, under Section 39 of the Indian Arbitration Act of 1940, arising out of an order dated 13-9-1955, passed by the First Civil Judge of Kanpur on an application under Section 34 of the Indian Arbitration Act. The order is to the following effect : "The defendants' application under Section 34 of the Indian Arbitration Act is allowed. The present suit is ordered to be stayed so that the parties may get their dispute settled through arbitration in pursuance of and in accordance with the provisions of the arbitration clause contained in the standard contract form of Messrs. Begg Sutherland and Co. Ltd., Kanpur, a copy of which form is on the file of this Suit as Ex. 1. The plaintiff firm will get its full cost of this suit from the defendants."
(2.) IN the present appeal the plaintiff has contended that the order of stay was wrong and Section 34 of the Arbitration Act was not properly applied to the case, because the application had been made by Kundan Das defendant alone and not by all the defendants, and also because the defendants were estopped by their letter dated 24-12-1951, from taking up the plea of Section 34 of the Act. The plaintiff has also contended that the court below erred in holding that no intricate question of law was involved, and it has been suggested that, since the matter involved intricate question, both of law and fact, the matter could not have been referred to arbitration. The defendants in their cross appeal have assailed that part of the order of the court below which allows full costs of the suit from the defendants.
(3.) THE plaintiff is a registered partnership firm and the suit was instituted through Madan Mohan Sharma one of the partners. Defendant No. 1 was also a registered partnership firm carrying on business in the name and style of Ram Bahadur Thakur and Co. and it was sued, through three of its partners, namely Thakur Das, Bassomal and Kundan Das. In paragraph 3 of the plaint it was stated that Thakur Das, Bassomal and Kundan Das, besides being partners in the Firm of defendant No. 1 are being sued in their representative capacity also as members of their respective pint families. THE claim was for the recovery of Rs. 1,05,388/5/on alleged breach of contract.;