Calcutta High Court: Certified Copy Of Arbitration Agreement, Attested By Notary Officer, Satisfies Section 8(2) Of A&C Act

Calcutta High Court: Certified Copy Of Arbitration Agreement, Attested By Notary Officer, Satisfies Section 8(2) Of A&C Act

The Calcutta High Court has ruled that presenting a certified copy of the arbitration agreement, duly attested by a notary public, meets the requirements of Section 8(2) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act. This provision mandates the submission of either the original or a certified copy of the arbitration agreement along with an application under Section 8 of the Act.

Justice Prasenjit Biswas reiterated that once all the conditions of Section 8 are met, the Court is obligated to refer the dispute to arbitration and has no discretion to proceed with the suit.

The parties executed an agreement on April 18, 2013, wherein Clause 4 stipulated the resolution of disputes through arbitration.

A dispute between the parties resulted in the opposite party/plaintiff filing a suit. Subsequently, the petitioner/defendant appeared before the trial court and submitted an application under Section 8 read with Section 5 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, seeking the referral of the dispute to arbitration as per Clause 4 of the agreement.

The petitioner submitted a certified copy of the agreement, duly attested by a notary, to the trial court. However, the trial court dismissed the application, stating that the condition of Section 8(2), which necessitates the submission of the original or a properly certified copy of the agreement along with an application under Section 8, was not fulfilled.

Dissatisfied with this decision, the petitioner filed a revision application under Article 227 of the Indian Constitution to challenge the impugned order.

The petitioner contested the challenged order, arguing that a certified copy of the agreement, duly attested by a notary officer, adequately complies with Section 8(2) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act. He further asserted that once the existence of the arbitration agreement is established, the court is obligated to refer the dispute to arbitration, and the suit cannot proceed.

The Court noted that Section 8(2) mandates the submission of either the original arbitration agreement or a certified copy of it. It emphasized that upon meeting the requisites of Section 8, the Court lacks the discretion to proceed with the suit and must refer the parties to arbitration.

The Court referenced the Supreme Court's ruling in Sundaram Finance v. T. Thankam, wherein it was held that the Arbitration Act, being a specialized legislation, takes precedence over general laws, necessitating the Court to refer the dispute to arbitration.

The Court noted that the petitioner had submitted a certified copy of the agreement duly attested by the Notary Public. It determined that this submission fulfilled the requirement of Section 8(2). The Court concluded that the trial court's decision was erroneous in stating that the petitioner did not provide either the original or the certified copy of the arbitration agreement.

Consequently, the court granted the petition and overturned the trial court's order. It instructed the trial court to refer the matter to an arbitrator within one month.