The main legal point established in the judgment is the limited judicial intervention allowed under Section 5 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 in proceedings governed by the Act.

JUDGMENT

RUMA PAL, J.- Leave granted.

2. This appeal has been preferred from an interim order granted by the Division Bench of the Bombay High Court staying the arbitration proceedings before the Uttar Pradesh Industry Facilitation 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 11-9-2001 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 Industrial Undertakings Act, 1993. Failure or non-payment will force us to move our claims as mentioned above to the appropriate authorities for recovery of our dues as mentioned above."

5. In October 2001 the appellants filed a claim petition before the Council. The Council forwarded the claim petition to Respondent 1 under cover of its letter dated 27-12-2001 asking Respondent 1 to respond to the same within a period of one month. The receipt of the claim petition was acknowledged by the respondent by letter dated 25-1-2002 and requested for time to submit its reply by six weeks. The prayer for extension of time was, however, made without prejudice to the respondents "legal rights and contentions relating to the impugned notice dated 27th December and the claim purported to be made under Section 6 of the said Act".

6. On 12-2-2002 Respondent 1 filed a suit in the City Civil Court at Bombay against the appellant who was named as Defendant 1 and the Council which was named as Defendant 2. The prayers in the plaint were, inter alia, for a declaration that the claim petition filed by the appellant before the Council was ultra vires the provisions of the Act and, therefore, illegal, null and void. A permanent order of injunction was also asked for restraining further proceedings before the Council. An application was filed in the suit for interim relief by Respondent 1. By an order dated 5-2-2002 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 28-11-2002 principally on the ground that the claim had been filed by the appellant under Section 6(2) of the Act 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 tothe extent prescribed under the 1996 Act. According to the City Civil Court, the reliefs claimed for Respondent 1 in its suit did not fall within the ambit of those situations where interference by court was permissible and consequently, the court had no jurisdiction to stay the proceedings before the Council.

7. Respondent 1 preferred an appeal from the decision of the City Civil Court before the High Court. The appeal is pending. On an application for interim relief filed by Respondent 1 pending the appeal, the High Court by its order dated 21-1-2003 stayed the proceedings before the Council only on the ground that no notice had been served by the appellant on Respondent 1 under Section 21 of the 1996 Act. The High Court rejected the appellants application for expediting the appeal on .2-5-2003. Both these orders of the High Court are questioned before us in these appeals.

8. Section 6 of the Act provides as follows:

"6. Recovery of amount due.-(1) The amount due from a buyer, together with the amount of interest calculated in accordance with the provisions of Sections 4 and 5, shall be rec