JUDGMENT - REBELLO F.I., J.:---In the course of arbitral proceedings which are pending, an order/decision came to be passed on 29th October, 2002. The petitioners had made an application under section 27 of the Arbitration Conciliation Act, 1996. Under section 27 of the Act of 1996 a party with the approval of the Arbitral Tribunal may apply to the Court for assistance in taking evidence. By application dated 6th June, 2002, petitioner prayed that the Arbitral Tribunal may be pleased to apply to the Court for assistance in taking evidence on documents referred to in para 6(c)(II). Those documents were documents under No. 1 to 8 under the Heading (C)(II). In the alternative the petitioners prayed, that the Tribunal be pleased to grant relief and/or approval to the petitioner herein to make an application to the Court for assistance in taking evidence of the nature mentioned in the prayer earlier referred to. The Arbitral Tribunal heard the parties and thereafter held that the applicant has not brought out any evidence to establish that the documents sought for were necessary to prove the case against the broker. It further held that the documents at best may be necessary to establish a case which the applicant seeks to make out against the selling brokers. The Tribunal held that the Tribunal was not in any way concerned with that dispute, if any such dispute exists and accordingly rejected the said application under section 27 of the Act. It is that order/decision, which the petitioner herein seeks to challenge as an Award, invoking the provisions of sections 18, 31 and 34 of the Act of 1996.

2. The challenge principally is that the said decision/order is an Award. If an Award, it can be challenged under section 34 of the Act of 1996. It will, therefore, have to be decided whether the order/decision dated 29th October, 2002 is an Award which expression includes an interim Award. If it is an Award, petition under section 34 would be maintainable. If not, the Court cannot exercise jurisdiction under section 34 and the parties will be left to challenge the order/decision when the Award is finally made and if in law the challenge falls under one of the grounds set out in section 34(2). It is also made clear that the correctness or otherwise of the said order/decision is not being gone into as the Court presently is only considering the issue whether the said order/decision, is an Award.

2-A. We may advert to certain provisions of the Arbitration Conciliation Act, 1996 to find out whether the order/decision of the Arbitral Tribunal rejecting an application under section 27 is an Award/interim Award as set out under section 2(c) of the Act of 1996. Section 2(c) sets out that an Arbitral Award includes an interim Award. What is an Award by itself is not defined. Section 31 of the Act of 1996 sets out the requirements of an Award including its form. It provides that an Arbitral Award shall be made in writing and shall be signed by the members of the Arbitral Tribunal. It further requires that in any arbitral proceedings with more than one arbitrator, the signature of the majority of all the members of the Arbitral Tribunal shall be sufficient so long as the reason for any omitted signature is stated. The next requirement is that the Award shall state the reasons upon which it is based except for the exceptions set out therein. It must also state the date and the place of arbitration. The subsequent requirements are procedural in nature of communicating the Award to the parties. We are really not concerned with that part. An Award considering section 2(c) of the Act of 1996, therefore, includes an interim Award, and as such will also have to satisfy the same requirements of section 31 to be treated as an Award. Section 31(6) confers jurisdiction on the Arbitral Tribunal at any time during the arbitral proceedings, to make an interim Arbitral Award on any matter with respect to which it may make a final Arbitral Award. Section 37 provi

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