1. This civil revision petition is filed by the defendants in O.S.No.3665 of 2010, which was filed by the respondents for permanent injunction. The petitioners filed I.A.No.54 of 2011 in the Court of X Junior Civil Judge, City Civil Court, Hyderabad, under Order VII, Rule 11 of C.P.C for rejection of plaint in view of the provisions of Sections 5 and 8 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (for short 'the Act'). The said application having been rejected, the petitioners filed the present civil revision petition.

2. At the hearing, Sri K.Maheswara Rao, learned counsel for the petitioners, submitted that on receipt of notice dated 05-8-2010 of reference of dispute to an arbitral tribunal, the respondents instituted O.S.No.3665 of 2010 for permanent injunction against the petitioners on 17-8-2010 without disclosing pendency of arbitral proceedings. He further submitted that an ex parte award was passed on 20-11-2010 in favour of the petitioners as the respondents failed to participate in the arbitral proceedings. The learned counsel, therefore, submitted that filing of suit itself is impermissible and therefore, the Court below ought to have rejected the plaint under