NIRENDRA KRISHNA MITRA, J.

( 1 ) THIS is an application under Sections 10 and 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 filed by the petitioners. According to the petitioners, they are approved contractors of the Eastern Railway for quite a long time and they have executed diverse works under numerous contracts with such Railway for a period of about 15 years between 1978 to 1993. Disputes arose in respect of 145 contracts, and all the said 145 contracts were covered by the same and identical Arbitration Clause namely, Clause 63 of General Conditions of Contract.

( 2 ) UNDER the sub-clause (3) (i) of the said General Clause 63, a sole arbitrator is to be appointed by the Railways, in cases, where the claim in question is below Rs. 5,00,000/- (Rupees Five Lakhs) and in cases, where the issues involved are not of a complicated nature.

( 3 ) UNDER sub-clause (3) (ii), two arbitrators are to be appointed in the manner laid in Clause 63 (3) (b) for all claims of Rs. 5,00,000/- (Rupees Five Lakhs) and above, and for all claims irrespective of the amount of value of such claims, if the issues involved are of complicated nature. In the event of the two arbitrators being divided in

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