1. This arbitration petition challenges an award passed by a sole arbitrator in a reference. The reference arose out of an umbrella agreement, under which the Petitioner had agreed to procure land so as to transfer the same to the Respondent.

2. The facts of the case may be briefly stated as follows :

The Petitioner is the sole proprietor of a firm known as 'M/s. Manvel Land Empire', whilst the Respondent is engaged in the business of real estate development. The Respondent was interested in acquiring land in Raigad District in Maharashtra for the purposes of development. To that end, the parties entered into a memorandum of understanding dated 31 January 2006 (hereinafter referred to as “original “MOU”), under which the Petitioner agreed to acquire land at various places in Taluka Khalapur, District Raigad and transfer the same to the Respondent. The agreement was supplemented by a supplementary agreement dated 21 February 2006. Under these agreements, various payments were made by the Respondent to the Petitioner aggregating to Rs.91 lakhs for procurement of land. It is the case of the Respondent that no land was procured by the Petitioner in pursuance of the agreements a