Karnataka High Court: S.R. Krishna Kumar, J., allowing the present petition for the appointment of a sole arbitrator under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, held that, the decision made is restricted to the peculiar facts of the instant case and shall not be treated as a precedent whatsoever.
Brief Facts
The present petition is instituted under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’), praying to appoint a sole arbitrator in terms of the Arbitration clause contained in clause 6 of the Agreement dated 13-06-2014, and in compliance with Section 11(6) of the Act, to enter into adjudication of disputes between the parties at the Arbitration and Conciliation Centre, Bengaluru.
Contentions
The Counsel for the respondents argued that the sale agreement, dated 13-06-2014, which contains the Arbitration clause, is insufficiently stamped and as such, the same cannot be acted upon for any purpose whatsoever including seeking appointment of an Arbitrator. In support of the argument, reliance was placed on the decision of Supreme Court in SMS Tea Estates (P) Ltd. v. Chand Mari Tea Co. (P) Ltd., 2011 (14) SCC 66 which was further followed in the case of Garvare Wall Ropes Ltd. v. Coastal Marine Constructions, 2019 (9) SCC 209.
The Counsel for the petitioners submitted that the responsibility of paying the deficit stamp duty and penalty on the said sale agreement, on or before the first date of hearing before the Arbitral Tribunal is hereby undertaken by them and that they have no objection with respect to the same.
Issue
- Whether an insufficiently stamped sale agreement, containing arbitration clause for the appointment of sole arbitrator enforceable under Section 11(6) of the Act?
Decision
While considering the peculiar facts and circumstances of the present case, in addition to the position clarified in SMS Tea Estate and Garvare Wall Ropes, the Court appointed a sole arbitrator imposing necessary conditions with regard to payment of stamp duty and penalty on the sale agreement. It was further said that the procedure adopted in the present case is restricted and limited to the instant case as it is rendered with the consent of both the parties and without prejudice to any of their rights.[Malchira C. Nanaiah v. Pathak Developers (P) Ltd., 2020 SCC OnLine Kar 1630, decided on 5-10-2020]
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