One is an application by the plaintiff asking for interim orders. There is another application under Section 45 of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996, by the first defendant to refer the parties to arbitration.

2. An unreported judgment of a Division Bench of the Hon’ble Gujarat High Court in Sadbhav Engineering Limited v. Montecarlo Limited delivered on 22nd August, 2013, cited by Mr. S. N. Mookherjee, learned senior advocate for the first defendant, opines that it is obligatory for the judicial authority to decide or ' prima facie find out as to whether the conditions mentioned in Section 8 of the above Act were fulfilled or not. The dictum of this High Court with regard to Section 8, in my opinion, should be extended in its application, to Section 45 as well.

3. This, in my opinion, is a very important judgment because neither Section 8 nor Section 45 states what would happen to a proceeding filed in Court, pending consideration of an application under Section 8 or Section 45. Sub-section (3) of Section 8 provides that during pendency of a proceeding before a judicial authority an arbitration may be commenced or continued and an arbitral award made. Nothing is said a