VISHWA NATH KHANNA Vs. RAM SWARUP RASTOGI AND SONS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) JUDGMENT , J.-

(2.) ON 25th January, 1975, the petitioner, Sh. Vishwa Nath Channa filed suit No. 52-A/75 under Section 20 of the Arbitration Act seeking the direction of the filing of an arbitration agreement dated 2.1.73 in the Court and the reference of disputes to the arbitration of Motion picture Association, Delhi. As per the averments, respondent No. 1, M/s Ram Swaroop Rastogi & Sons is a partnership firm consisting of Mr. Ram Swaroop Rastogi, his wife, Smt. Phool Mati Rastogi and their sons S/Sh. Jagdish Kumar Rastogi, Kuldeep Rasrtogi and Kamal Kumar Rastogi. This firm owns the cinema known as Shilpi Theatre at Lucknow.

(3.) I have carefully perused the disputes mentioned in the petition which are sought to be referred to the learned arbitrators. In these disputes the petitioner has claimed certain amount for the breaches alleged to have been committed by the respondent of the terms and conditions of the agreement dated 2.1.73. In his previous suit the petitioner has not mentioned the amounts against each dispute. Learned for the petitioner state at the Bar that in their statement of claim before the learned arbitrators they have almost claimed these very amounts made the subject matter of the present petition. Even otherwise, I am of the opinion that these disputes arise out of the agreement dated 2.1.73 and are subject matter of the disputes already pending before the learned arbitrators. As to whether these disputes have become infructuous because of the efflux of time or not is a question, that can also be gone into by the learned arbitrators. The respondents shall be at liberty to contest the claim set out in the present petition. Once the respondents accept the execution of the agreement containing an arbitration clause there is no reason as to why the disputes mentioned in paragraph 14 of this petition be not referred to the arbitrators who have already been required to enter upon the reference and decide the disputes on per the order of this Court dated 14.10.77. This suit stands disposed of.