SANAPALA SURYANARAYANA Vs. SANAPALA RAMACHANDRA RAO DIED HIS LRS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE only question raised in these appeals is whether without the award being filed in court either a judgment could be passed in terms of the award or the alleged award could be set aside. This point arises in the following circumstances.

(2.) ONE Sanapala Subbaiah Naidu alias Subbrao died survived by his widows and leaving some properties. Succession to the estate opened in or about the year 1953. On the death of the widows, immediately disputes arose amongst several of his distant relations as to who should succeed to the estate. This was referred to the arbitration of one B. Rajagopalarao. The arbitrator made the award and presented it for registration on 24-2-1954. But the award was not engrossed on stamp paper as required under the law and the stamp duty of the value of Rs. 390.00 was due. The District Registrar who took up the matter for registration, apportioned the liability for stamp duty and penalty between the parties and issued notices on 13-1-1956 to them to remit that amount. The first appellant in the C. M. A. refused to pay the amount objecting to such a demand. As the entire stamp dirty and penalty was not paid, the District Registrar refused to register it or send the original award to the Court. The respondents plaintiffs who are to get a sum of Rs. 4,000.00 presented O. P. No. 65 of 1953 to pass a decree in terms of the award. The first appellant, who was required to pay a sum of Rs. 4,000.00 to the plaintiffs and another, filed O. P. No. 73 of 1954 to set aside the award.

(3.) THE point for consideration in these appeals is whether the view of the Subordinate Judge that without an award no order could be passed either under Section 17 or Section 30 of the Arbitration Act is correct. Sri Srirama Sastry for the appellants in the C. M. A. contends that in order to enable the Court to set aside the award it is enough if a copy of the award is before the Court and since a copy of that was filed in Court the Subordinate Judge should have gone into the merits of the application.