JUDGMENT :

R. BANUMATHI, J.

1. Leave granted.

2. Whether the Madras High Court could exercise jurisdiction under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 despite the fact that the agreement contains the clause that venue of arbitration shall be Bhubaneswar, is the question falling for consideration in this appeal.

3. Brief facts which led to filing of this appeal are as under:-

The appellant entered into an agreement with the respondent for sale of 40,000 WMT (Wet Metric Tonne) of Iron Ore Pellets on FOB terms and payment was to be made by Letter of Credit in Bhubaneswar. The loading port was Dhamra Port, Bhadrak, Odisha and destination was Chennai/Ennore Ports, Tamil Nadu. Dispute arose between the parties regarding the price and payment terms and the appellant did not deliver the goods to the respondent. The respondent claimed for damages alleging that it had to procure the Iron Ore Pellets from other sources at higher rates. The appellant denied any liability to pay damages on the ground that contract was later modified and that the respondent breached the material terms of the contract and this led to the dispute between the parties.

4. Clause 18 of the agreement b