Delhi High Court: A Single Judge Bench comprising of Pratibha M. Singh, J. allowed an appeal filed by the Government of NCT of Delhi which challenged the award passed by a sole arbitrator.
The brief facts were that the Government called a tender for providing sanitation and scavenger services inside and outside the building including reception services from designated places for the Delhi Sachivalaya/Secretariat, IP Estate, New Delhi. The tender proforma contained various terms and conditions. One Yasikan Enterprises – a sole proprietary concern of Jagdish Kumar submitted his offer. The contract for sanitation services was entered into with Yasikan Enterprises. The contractor started raising bills. It was the Government’s case that the contractor was entitled to only a sum of Rs 73,652 per month as per the calculation submitted, based on measurements provided by Public Works Department. The contractor claimed that he was entitled to Rs 2,63,982 per month. The disputes between the parties were referred to arbitration in terms of the arbitration clause. However, it is pertinent to note that the arbitration clause was invoked by Yasikan Enterprises (P) Ltd. which was a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956. A representation was made to the Lieutenant Governor invoking arbitration and vide letter dated 24th September 2004, the Arbitrator was appointed. The appellant submitted that there was no arbitration clause with the company Yasikan Enterprises (P) Ltd. The contract was awarded to the firm Yasikan Enterprises, which was a sole proprietary concern.
The High Court perused the record and observed that as per Section 7 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, every arbitration agreement has to be in writing between the parties. It also has to be signed by the parties. In the present case, there was no arbitration agreement signed between the appellant and Yasikan Enterprises (P) Ltd. The company was not awarded the contract. The offer was submitted by Yasikan Enterprises as a sole proprietary firm. It was signed by Jagdish Kumar as the sole proprietor. The company being a distinct legal entity from the sole proprietorship, the arbitration clause, in the Court’s opinion, did not devolve upon the company. Moreover, the arbitration clause is an independent clause which is not assignable. The Court held the reference to arbitration was contrary to law. Furthermore, on merits as well, the order impugned was found liable to be set aside. Orders were made accordingly. The appeal was, thus, allowed. [Govt. (NCT of Delhi) v. Yasikan Enterprises (P) Ltd.,2018 SCC OnLine Del 11918, dated 16-10-2018]
