R B BASAKHA SINGH AND SONS Vs. INDIAN DRUGS AND PHARMACEUTICAL LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a petition u/s 20 of the Arbitration Act requiring the respondent to file the agreement and to refer the disputes to an arbitrator. The respondent accepted the tender of the petitioner for the construction of 232 quarters at Antibiotics Plant Township, Rishikesh (U.P.). and formal contract was executed on 22nd May, 1972, which contains the following arbitration clause ;-- "It is also a term of this contract that no person other than a person appointed by the Chairman and Managing Director, as aforesaid, shall act as Arbitrator, and, and, if for any reason, that is not possible, the matter is not to be referred to arbitration at all all."

(2.) IT is admitted by the parties that on 7.8.75, a supplementary deed was executed between them, whereby it was agreed to substitute the words "Managing Director" in the original agreement,

(3.) ISSUE no. 3. The learned counsel for the petitioner u/s 20 of the Arbitration Act has not disclosed the disputes, which are to be referred to and in the absence of pleas no arbitrator can be appointed. The argument is that without disputes there cannot be any reference to arbitration. The learned counsel for the petitioner, on the other hand, has stated that a notice dated 22.4.75 was served upon the Chairman and Managing Director of the respondent together with the items of disputes requiring it to appoint an arbitrator and refer the same to him. His contention is that he has filed a copy of this notice along with other documents in this case and, as such, it is a part and parcel of the petition and, therefore, it should be held that he has mentioned the disputes in the petition itself. I may mention that documents have been filed by the petitioner including the notice dated 22nd April, 1975, wherein the items of disputes are mentioned, but documents Filed by a party are not part of the pleadings. Without pleadings the petitioner is not entitled to allege what are the disputes which it seeks to refer to the arbitrator. I, therefore, hold that in the absence of allegations of disputes in the petition, no rererence can be made to the Arbitrator.