State of Chhattisgarh and Anr. v. M/S. KMC Construction Limited
Case Details & Bench
- Court
- High Court
- Hon'ble Judges
- Adarsh Kumar Goel
- R. F. Nariman
- Judgment Date
- 2018-04-18
- Court Decision / Holding
- The impugned direction under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 cannot be sustained and is set aside. The parties are relegated to the MP Arbitration Tribunal which may decide the dispute as per the MP Madhyastha Adhikaran Adhiniyam, 1983. The appeals are disposed of. The parties may appear before the Tribunal for further proceedings on 9 July 2018. It will be open to the respondents to file the very same claim which has already been filed before the Arbitrator.
- Final Disposition
- Appeals disposed of.
Parties to the Case
Appellants / Petitioners
- M/S. KMC Construction Limited
Respondents
- State of Chhattisgarh
- Anr.
Legal Representation & Advocates
Counsels for Petitioners
- • Ms. Kiran Suri, Sr. Advs.
- • Ms. Renuka Sahu
- • Jay Savla
- • G Amar Varun
- • Ms. Anusuya Salwan
- • Dhurav Mishra
- • Divyanshu Kumar Srivastav
- • Akash Lamba
- • Viren Sibal
- • Vivekananda B.
- • Vikas Sood
- • Apporv Kurup
- • Ms. Isha Mital
- • Dr. Harsh Pathak
- • Ms. Shweta Mahajan
- • Mohit Chaubey
- • Siddharth Shukla
- • Neeraj Shekhar
- • Arjun Garg
- • Mishra Saurabh
- • Sridhar Potaraju
- • Sudhir Mishra
- • Prabhat
Counsels for Respondents
- • Saurabh Mishra, AAG.
- • Jugal Kishore Gilda
- • Purushaindra Kumar, Advs. Gen.
- • Naman Nagrath
- • Neeraj Kishan Kaul
- • Parag Triathi
- • Harsh Parashar
- • Jubin Prasad
- • Aman Pandey
- • Siddharth Shukla
- • Neeraj Shekhar
- • Arjun Garg
- • Mishra Saurabh
- • Sridhar Potaraju
- • Sudhir Mishra
- • Prabhat
Case Synopsis & Summary
This civil appeal concerns the jurisdiction to adjudicate a dispute arising from contractual work governed by the Madhya Pradesh Madhyastham Adhikaran Adhiniyam, 1983 (MP Act). The High Court of Chhattisgarh had dealt with an arbitration application under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (Act, 1996), and the Supreme Court, by invoking its own precedent in MP Rural Road Development Authority v. L.G. Chaudhary Engineers and Contractors (2012) 3 SCC 495, held that the Madhya Pradesh Arbitration Tribunal constituted under the MP Act has exclusive jurisdiction to decide disputes of this nature. The Court observed that an order under Section 11 of the Act, 1996 directing the parties to proceed under the 1996 Act cannot be sustained in light of the exclusive jurisdiction conferred on the MP Arbitration Tribunal. Consequently, the matter is relegated to the MP Arbitration Tribunal to adjudicate the dispute in accordance with the MP Act. The Court condoned delay, granted leave, and disposed of the appeals, directing the parties to appear before the Tribunal on 9 July 2018. The respondents were permitted to file the same claim already filed before the arbitrator. The judgment relies on the authority that MP Act provides exclusive adjudicatory reach over the dispute between the State authorities and the contracting entity, KMC Construction Limited.
Provisions of Law Cited
Legal Doctrines & Maxims
- Exclusive jurisdiction of Arbitration Tribunal under MP Madhyastham Adhikaran Adhiniyam, 1983 (doctrine)
Submissions & Arguments
Contentions of Appellants / Petitioners
The applicants (KMC Construction Limited) contest the reliance on the 1996 Arbitration Act Section 11 route in the context of MP Act's exclusive jurisdiction. They advocate that the dispute should be resolved under the framework of MP Madhyastha Adhikaran Adhiniyam, 1983, with the MP Arbitration Tribunal empowered to decide the matter as per the Act and that any contrary directive would undermine the MP Act's scheme.
Contentions of Respondents
The respondents argued that the MP Arbitration Tribunal has exclusive jurisdiction to adjudicate the dispute under the MP Act, and that the directive under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 is unsustainable. They sought relegation of the dispute to the MP Tribunal in accordance with the MP Act.
Cited Precedents (1)
| Case Name | Citation | Treatment | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madhya Pradesh Rural Road Development Authority and Anr. v. L.G. Chaudhary Engineers and Contractors | (2012) 3 SCC 495 | Positive | Relied upon by the Court to establish that the MP Act tribunal has exclusive jurisdiction over such disputes. |
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Extracted Judgment Text
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