JUDGMENT

P. Sathasivam, J.

1) Leave granted.

2) This appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated 21.02.2007 passed by the High Court of Delhi in F.A.O. No. 305 of 2006 by which the High Court dismissed the appeal filed by the appellant herein for lack of territorial jurisdiction holding that Section 10(1)(a) of the Companies Act, 1956 will take precedence over Section 50 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.

3) Brief facts, in a nutshell, are: On 05.10.1984, a Joint Venture Agreement was entered into between Sumitomo Corporation (appellant herein), Punjab Tractors Pvt. Ltd. (respondent No.5 herein) and Swaraj Mazda Limited (Respondent No.6 herein) comprehensively specifying the respective rights and obligations of the parties including the management control of the affairs of the company. The Joint Venture Agreement, which is filed as Annexure P-1, contains in Article XVI, arbitration agreement between the parties.

In the beginning of 2005, the shareholding pattern of the appellant - Sumitomo Corporation ( in short "SC") and respondent No. 5 - Punjab Tractors Pvt. Ltd. ( in short "PTL") & respondent No. 6 -