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2020 Supreme(Cal) 32
IN THE HIGH COURT OF CALCUTTA
Soumen Sen, Ravi Krishan Kapur, JJ.
Indian Golf Union And Others - Appellants
Versus
West Bengal Golf Society And Others - Respondents
First Miscellaneous Appeal No. 617 of 2019; C.A.N. No. 3847 of 2019, 4948 of 2019
Decided On : 19-02-2020
S.N. Mookherjee, Advocate, Rishbh Karnani, Advocate, Anurag Bagaria, Advocate, Ranjan Bachawat, Advocate, Debnath Ghosh, Advocate, Sushovit Dutt Majumder, Advocate, Sarosij Dasgupta, Advocate, Souvik Ganguly, Advocate
Headnote:(A) West Bengal Societies Registration Act, 1961 - Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 - Rules and Regulations of Indian Golf Union - Dispute regarding validity of amendments made under the Rules and Regulations by the Extra-ordinary General Meeting - The court addressed whether a valid arbitration agreement exists between the parties, emphasizing that the dispute regarding amendments revolves around the efficacy of the earlier Rules and Regulations. (Paras 43-44)
(B) Arbitration agreement - Severability - The Supreme Court ruled that an arbitration agreement remains distinct from the substantive contract, but it cannot govern disputes against a new contract if it has been superseded. (Paras 30-31)
(C) Interim Relief under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 - Court discretion - The principles of prima facie case, balance of convenience, and irreparable injury must be satisfied for granting interim relief. The learned trial judge failed to consider these principles adequately, necessitating appeal intervention. (Paras 46-56)
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. background and procedural history of the case. (Para 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5) |
| 2. dispute surrounding the e.g.m. and membership issues. (Para 6 , 7 , 8) |
| 3. arguments from both parties regarding the arbitration agreement. (Para 9 , 10 , 11 , 12) |
| 4. observations from the trial judge regarding interim measures. (Para 13 , 14 , 15) |
| 5. discussions on the arbitration agreement's existence. (Para 16 , 17 , 18) |
| 6. legal standards for granting interim relief under section 9. (Para 19 , 20 , 21) |
| 7. legal principles applied to assess prima facie cases. (Para 22 , 23 , 24 , 25) |
| 8. assessment of the balance of convenience. (Para 26 , 27 , 28) |
| 9. conclusion on the interim relief sought. (Para 29 , 30 , 31) |
| 10. finalization of the court's decision and orders. (Para 32 , 33 , 34 , 35) |
JUDGMENT
Soumen Sen, J. - This present appeal arises out of a judgment and order dated February 20, 2019 passed by the learned Additional District Judge, 15th Court, Alipore, South 24 Parganas, in Misc. Case (Arbitration) No. 79 of 2018.
The Factual Background
2. The appellant no. 1, i.e. the Indian Golf Union, is a society registered under the West Bengal Societies Registration Act, 1961 and is a federation of all the golf associations in the different states in India. The respondent no. 1, i.e. West Bengal Golf Society, is also a society registered under the West Bengal Societies Registration Act, 1961 and is a union or federation of certain golf clubs in the State of West Bengal. The respondent no. 1 was a member association of the appellant no. 1.
3. The appellant no. 1 issued a notice dated May 4, 2018 for an Extra-ordinary General Meeting ('E.G.M.') of its members, which included the respondent no. 1, to be held on June 6, 2018. The main purpose of this meeting was to amend the Rules and Regulations (2014) of the appellant no. 1. The significant changes brought about in this E.G.M. to the Rules and Regulations (2014) was the mode of settlement of disputes and the criteria for affiliation of a State Golf Association with the appellant no. 1. The existing dispute resolution mechanism in the Rules and Regulations (2014) was replaced by Rule 66 of the Rules and Regulations (2018). Both the old and the new Rules on dispute resolution are set out herein below:-
| Rule 70, Rules and Regulations (2014) | Rule 66, Rules and Regulations (2018) |
| "All disputes arising within the Union shall be referred to the All India Council of Sports for settlement under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The All India Council of Sports shall appoint a panel of Arbitrators out of whom parties to the disputes in the Union will select one arbitrator each and the third arbitrator out of the said panel will be mutually agreed upon by the two arbitrators. The arbitration proceedings should be completed within the period specified under the Arbitration Act or within the time extended by the arbitrators with the consent of the parties." | "All unresolved disputes shall be settled by the Arbitration Commission of Indian Olympic Association and all affiliated members of the IGU shall voluntarily surrender their right of seeking redress in any court of law." |
Similarly, the old Rule 2(c) of the Rules and Regulations (2014) specifying the criteria for membership, was replaced by the new Rule 2(c) of the Rules and Regulations (2018), both Rules are set out below:-
| Rule 2(c), Rules and Regulations (2014) | Rule 2(c), Rules and Regulations (2018) |
| " State Golf Associations affiliated with the Union shall be members of the Union. State Golf Associations shall have the following voting rights only if at least one of its Golf Courses is a Category A or Category B Golf Course:............" |
" THE INDIAN GOLF UNION will recognize/affiliate only of SGA from each State. For such recognition the following Rules shall app |
