MUSAFIR ALI Vs. MD. ROYSUL HAQ CHAUDHURY AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a second appeal from the judgment and decree of the learned Subordinate Judge, Cachar, dated 7th January 1916, by which he set aside the judgment and decree of the trial Court which had dismissed the plaintiff's suit with costs.

(2.) THE facts material to the appeal are these. The plaintiff and defendant 4 referred certain matters in dispute between them to the arbitration of defendants 1 -3. The arbitrators gave their award on 20th October 1948, which was duly filed in Court and numbered as a suit. The plaintiff objected to the award and sought to have it set aside. Defendant 4 supported the award and contended that it was not liable to be set aside. The trial Court, however, came to the conclusion that the award was liable to be set aside, and instead of setting aside the award, decreed the plaintiff's suit a matter only of terminological -inexactitude. The lower appellate Court reversed the judgment and decree of the trial Court, thereby refusing to set aside the award. The question for our consideration is - -whether a second appeal is competent. Section 39 (1), Arbitration Act of 1940 provides for an appeal against an order setting aside or refusing to set aside an award. There is no provision in the Arbitration Act which provides for a second appeal against an order setting aside or refusing to set aside an award. Mr. Dam for the appellant contended that the subject -matter of the award was one which could not be referred to arbitration, and that the proceedings, therefore, in the Courts below were not proceedings under the Arbitration Act but must be regarded as a suit, and a second appeal was competent under the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure. We are unable to accept this contention. Section 32, Arbitration Act is in these terms:

(3.) UNDER Section 30, Arbitration Act, an award shall not be set aside except on one or more of the following grounds, namely : (a) that an arbitrator or umpire has misconducted himself or the proceedings; (b) that an award has been made after the issue of an order by the Court superseding the arbitration or after the arbitration proceedings have become invalid under Section 35; (c) that an award has been improperly procured or is otherwise invalid.