DALVEER BHANDARI, J.

( 1 ) THESE civil appeals are directed against the judgment of the Madhya Pradesh High Court of Judicature at Jabalpur delivered in Miscellaneous Appeal Nos. 479/1996 and 501/1996 dated Ist December, 1999.

( 2 ) THE legal issue involved in these appeals is:

"whether the Court while deciding the application under section 20 of the Arbitration Act, 1940 can consider the issue as to what is arbitrable and what is not arbitrable, or judicial officer's role is only ministerial or mechanical in nature i. e. referring the dispute to arbitrator if there is an arbitration agreement and some disputes have arisen out of the contract between the parties?"

( 3 ) BRIEF facts which are necessary to dispose of these appeals are as under:-In the present case, the respondent/contractor had demanded arbitration as per clause 64 of the General conditions of the Contract and had raised five claims.

( 4 ) THE appellants herein agreed to refer for arbitration only claim no. 4 and the rest of the claims were "excepted" matters and were specifically excluded from the purview of the arbitration by virtue of clause 63 of the General Conditions of the Contract as well as by virtue of Specia