JUDGMENT:

1. The Petitioner – National Textile Corporation Ltd. in these two petitions is aggrieved by awards passed by the Facilitation Council i.e. Respondent No. 2 under the provisions of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 (hereinafter referred to as the “MSMED Act”). These petitions have been filed under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (hereinafter referred to as the “Arbitration Act”) to challenge the said awards, inter alia, as being without jurisdiction.

2. The Respondent No. 1 in both these petitions is the contesting Respondent. As per the requirements of the MSMED Act, the Petitioner deposited 75% of the awarded amount in both these petitions. The Respondent No. 1 applied for withdrawal of the amounts, but considering the issues involved in the petitions, this Court took up the petitions for final disposal at the stage of admission, with the consent of the learned Counsel for the rival parties.

3. The facts leading up to filing of these two petitions are that in the November, 2008, the Petitioner floated a tender for design, fabrication, erection, testing and commissioning of piping systems for steam, condensate, compressed