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TMI Blog2004 (2) TMI 379X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tion Council (referred to as 'the Council') set up under the Interest on Delayed Payments to Small Scale and Ancillary Industrial Undertakings Act, 1993 (referred to as 'the Act'). 3. We are not concerned with the merits of the proceedings initiated by the appellant before the Council. The only question is whether the High Court had the jurisdiction to pass the impugned order. 4. The chronology of events which are relevant for the purposes of this appeal, commenced with a notice dated 11th September, 2001 served by the appellant on the respondent raising a demand. The notice also contained the following paragraph : "You may also treat this as a notice under the provisions of the 'interest on Delayed Payments to Small Scale and Ancillary ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... , 2002 the City Civil Court granted an ad interim injunction staying the proceedings under the Act. The application for interim relief was, however, ultimately dismissed by the City Civil Court on 28th November, 2002 principally on the ground that the claim had been filed by the appellant under section 6(2) read with section 8(1) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (which we will refer to as the 1996 Act) and in view of section 5 of the 1996 Act no Court could intervene in arbitration proceedings except to the extent prescribed under the 1996 Act. According to the City Civil Court, the reliefs claimed for the respondent No. 1 in its suit did not fall within the ambit of those situations where interference by Court was permissible ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... erred to in sub-section (1) of section 7 of that Act." Sub-section (2) of section 6 expressly incorporates the provisions of the 1996 Act. Apart from such express incorporation sub-section (2) of section 6 goes further and creates a legal fiction whereby disputes referred are to be deemed to have been made pursuant to an arbitration agreement as defined in section 7 of sub-section (1) of the 1996 Act. 9. Incorporation of the provisions of the 1996 Act into section 6(2) of the Act has also been effected by sub-sections (4) and (5) of section 2 of the 1996 Act which say : "(4) This Part except sub-section (1) of section 40, sections 41 and 43 shall apply to every arbitration under any other enactment for the time being in force, as if the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ide under section 16 of the 1996 Act. Sub-section (1) of section 16 opens with the words "The Arbitral Tribunal may rule on its jurisdiction. . . ." It has been held by this Court that the Arbitral Tribunal's authority under section 16 is not confined to the width of its jurisdiction but goes to the very root of its jurisdiction - Konkan Railway Corpn. Ltd. v. Rani Construction (P.) Ltd. [2002] 37 SCL 407 (SC). Therefore, the Council can go into the question whether its authority had been wrongly invoked by the appellant and it is open to it to hold that it had no jurisdiction to proceed with the matter. 10. The arguments which have been raised before us by the learned counsel on behalf of the respondent to a large extent related to the me ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rator deriving authority under section 10A has no jurisdiction". The provisions of section 10A are entirely different from the provisions of section 16 of the 1996 Act. There is in this case, no question of dispute spilling into areas where the Arbitral Tribunal does not have jurisdiction. Under the 1996 Act, the Arbitral Tribunal has been given a very wide and deep area of operation and it is the Court's powers which have been statutory curtailed. 12. This brings us to the ground on which the High Court stayed the proceedings before the Council, namely, the alleged failure of the appellant to serve notice under section 21 of the 1996 Act. The point was not raised before the High Court at all by the respondent No. 1. This was candidly stat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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