Back
2015 Supreme(Bom) 1873
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
R.D. DHANUKA, J.
Jain Social Group & Ors. - Petitioners
Versus
Jain Social Groups International Federation & Ors. - Respondents
Arbitration Petition No.1351 of 2015
Decided On : 27-10-2015
Advocate Appeared:
Mr. M.S. Karnik i/by Mr.Rahul Motkari for the Petitioners
Dr. Birendra Saraf a/w Mr. Rohan Savant a/w Mr. Nikhil Rajani a/w Mr. Nilesh Bamne i/by M/s. V. Deshpande & Co. for the Respondents
The resignation was a bilateral act, requiring acceptance by the respondent, and the acceptance of the resignation after withdrawal was deemed illegal.
Headnote:
Arbitration Act - Resignation Acceptance - Constitution of Respondent No.1 - Section 34 of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 - [Arbitration Act] - [Resignation Acceptance] - [Section 34]
Fact of the Case:
The petitioners challenged an arbitral award dismissing their claim. The petitioners, members of a Jain association, nominated petitioner no.2 as their representative. Due to internal politics, petitioner no.2 resigned, along with other committee members, but later withdrew the resignation. The respondent accepted the resignation after withdrawal, leading to a dispute.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the resignation was a bilateral act, requiring acceptance by the respondent. The acceptance of the resignation after withdrawal was deemed illegal. The appointment of respondent no.3 was also found to be illegal. The arbitral award was set aside, except for the finding on the appointment of respondent no.3.
Issues: Dispute over resignation acceptance and appointment of respondent no.3.
Ratio Decidendi: Resignation was a bilateral act, requiring acceptance by the respondent. Acceptance of resignation after withdrawal was illegal. The appointment of respondent no.3 was also illegal.
Final Decision: The arbitral award was set aside, except for the finding on the appointment of respondent no.3.
By this petition filed under section 34 of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 (for short “Arbitration Act”) the petitioners have impugned the arbitral award dated 17th July 2015 passed by the arbitral tribunal dismissing the claim filed by the petitioners. Some of the relevant facts for the purpose of deciding this petition are as under :
2. The petitioners were the original claimants whereas, the respondents were the original respondents in the arbitral proceedings. The petitioner no.1 is an association of persons consisting of Jain individuals situated at Nashik and is operative in Nashik. The respondent no.1 is a Federation of all the Jain groups located all over the world. The petitioner no.1 is also a Member of the respondent no.1. The respondent no.2 was the President of the respondent no.1 for the period 2014-15. The respondent no.3 was the Vice President of the respondent no.1 for the tenure of 2014-15. The petitioner no.2 is a Member of the petitioner no.1. The respondent no.1 is governed by its Constitution which is annexed at Exhibit-B to the petition.
3. The Managing Committee of the respondent no.1 as per its Constitution is as under :-
a) President.
b) President Elect-1.
c) President Elect-2.
d) Immediate Former President.
e) Vice President (total-5).
f) Vice President (Overseas).
g) Secretary General.
h) Secretary.
i) Joint Secretary.
j) Treasurer.
4. The tenure of the Managing Committee of the respondent no.1 is for one year commencing from 1st April of every year upto 31st March of next year and the elections are held every year. However, for the post of President and President Elect-1, no election was held. Every year, the current President Elect-1 automatically becomes the President of next coming year and the current President Elect-2 automatically becomes the President Elect-1 of next coming year.
5. It is the case of the petitioners that the petitioner no.1 had nominated its former President i.e. petitioner no.2 as its representative and accordingly, he was initially elected upon the Managing Committee as Vice President for 5 terms and for the year 2013-14 for the post of President Elect-2. It is also the case of the petitioner no.1 that for the year 2014-15, the petitioner no.2 thus automatically became the President Elect-1 and as per the Constitution and structure of the respondent no.1, the petitioner no.2 further automatically become eligible as President for the year 2015-16 starting from 1st April 2015 upto 31st March 2016.
6. It is the case of the petitioners that due to dirty politics played by the respondent nos.1 to 3 alongwith the other individuals and due to his dissatisfaction with the Managing Committee members, it became difficult for the petitioner no.2 to work peacefully as President Elect-1. On 21st August 2014, the petitioner no.2 tendered his resignation from the post of President Elect-1 to the respondent no.2 being the then President of the respondent no.1. It is the case of the petitioners that due to the said incident, all the other Committee members from Nashik region also tendered their resignations on the same day by writing separate letters. On 21st August 2014, totally 12 members had resigned from their respective posts. It is the case of the petitioners that all these resignations were received by the respondent no.1 immediately and till 9th November 2014, no action was taken upon the said resignations by the respondent no.1 and were not accepted. All such persons were working as the Managing Committee members on their respective posts.
7. It is the case of the petitioners that all such Managing Committee members, who had tendered their respective resignation, however, due to persistence of the community members and in view of the larger interest of the Jain community, all of them including the petitioner no.2 addressed a letter dated 7th November 2014 and withdrew their resignation. The respondent no.2 being the then President of the respondent no.1 was also informed about
