Judgment

WANCHOO J.: These two appeals by special leave from the judgments of the Calcutta High Court raise a common question of law and will be dealt with together. It will be convenient to set out the facts of appeal 309 and deal with them in connection with the point raised on behalf of the appellant. These facts are that a contract was entered into between the parties for supply of cornsacks on August 29, 1951. The contract contained an arbitration clause in the following terms :

"All matters, questions, disiputes, difference and/or claims arising out of and/or concerning and/or in connection with and/or in consequence of or relating to this contract whether or not the obligation of either or both parties under this contract be subsisting at the time of such dispute and whether or not this contract has been terminated or purported to be terminated or completed shall be referred to the arbitration of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce under the rules of its Tribunal of Arbitration for the time being in force and according to such rules the arbitration shall be conducted."

Disputes arose with respect to carrying out of the contract and on October 25, 1951 the respondent referred these disputes to the arbitration of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce (hereinafter referred to as the Chamber). That case was numbered 217-G of 1951 in the Chamber s records. On April 17, 1952, the Tribunal of Arbitration made an award disallowing the claim of the respondent. This award was filed in the High Court. On May 25, 1953, the award was set aside on the ground of misconduct on the part of the arbitrators by a learned Single Judge. That order was taken in appeal and on July 8, 1954, the appeal was dismissed. Later, leave to appeal to this Court was refused and thus the order of the learned single Judge setting aside the award finally stood.

2. Soon after the award had been set aside by the learned Single Judge, the respondent addressed a letter to the Chamber on September 7,1953. It was said in this letter that as the award in case No. 217-G of 1951 had been set aside by the High Court, the respondent begged to refer the matter for arbitration de novo and enclosed its statement of the case. Thereupon another tribunal was constituted under the rules of the Chamber to decide the dispute afresh. The appellant appeared before the tribunal and contended that it had no jurisdiction to make an award on a second reference in the same dispute. The tribunal, however, proceeded to decide the reference and made the award on March 15, 1955. This time the award was in favour of the respondent. Thereupon on August 4, 1955, the appellant made an application to the High Court praying that the award be set aside. In the alternative, the appellant prayed that the award be declared null and void and the arbitration agreement between the parties be superseded on the ground that the second reference was incompetent,

3. The application was opposed by the respondent and its contention was that this was not a second reference, and what the respondent wanted was that the Chamber should in the event that had happened take up the dispute again and make a proper award. Reliance in support of the plea that such a course was permissible was placed on behalf of the respondent on the decision of the Calcutta High Court in Barangore Jute Factory Co. Ltd. v. M/s. Hulaschand Rupchand, 62 Cal W N 754

4. The learned Single Judge relied on the decision in 62 Cal W N 734 and held that from what the respondent said to the Chamber in its letter of September 7, 1953 it was reasonably clear that all that it wanted was that the Chamber should in the event that had happened take up the dispute again and make a proper award. It could not therefore be held because of some language used in the letter that the respondent was making a fresh reference, Consequently, it was held that the Chamber had jurisdiction to decide the dispute after the earlier award had been set aside and what the respondent had