IMPORTANT POINT
The main legal point established in the judgment is that disputes governed by the Transfer of Property Act are arbitrable, while those governed by rent control legislation are non-arbitrable and can only be adjudicated by specified courts.

JUDGMENT :

Siddhartha Roy Chowdhury, J.

1. Challenge in this appeal is to the judgement and order passed on 8th June, 2021 by learned Single Judge, in an application being A.P. no. 1276 of 2015 under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.

2. Briefly stated on 1st December, 1982 by virtue of registered deed of lease, to be expired by efflux of time, the appellant was inducted as lessee in respect of the suit property by the respondents for a period of 15 years. After the efflux of time, in the year 1997, since the lessee did not vacate the premises, the lessor, following the clause of arbitration, as incorporated in the deed of lease, took out an application for appointment of an Arbitrator and accordingly the dispute was referred to arbitration under the Act of 1996, which was culminated into an award, passed by Learned Arbitrator, on 21.04.2019 directing thereby the lessee to quit and vacate the property in question and to deliver peaceful possession of the same to the lessor.

3. The lessee made an unsuccessful attempt to get the award reversed, in a proceeding under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. Hence this intra court appeal.

4. Assailing the impugned judgement, Mr. Joy Saha, learned Senior Counsel, submits that the dispute between the so called lessor and lessee for all practical purposes is the dispute between the landlord and tenant. The lessee being the tenant in respect of a premises situated within the Municipal area of Howrah is subject to the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act that extends certain statutory protection to a premises tenant against evection and imposes certain statutory obligation upon the landlord to comply with. Such dispute could not have been brought within the arena of arbitration, it is not arbitrable.

5. According to Mr. Saha, learned Single Judge failed to appreciate this well settled principle of law and committed error while passing the impugned judgement.

6. It is adverted that the dispute between the landlord and tenant may be a subject matter of arbitration if it is governed by the Transfer of Property Act. The Transfer of Property Act has a public purpose no doubt and it regulates landlord tenant relationship and the arbitrator could be bound by the provisions of law. But dispute between landlord and tenant when is governed by Rent Control legislation it becomes non-arbitrable and it can only be adjudicated and enforced by the specified Court/Forum and none else. To buttress his argument Mr. Saha, learned Senior Counsel, places his reliance on the judgement of Hon’ble Supreme Court in Vidya Drolia and Others Vs. Durga Trading Corporation reported in (2021) 2 SCC 1.

7. It is further adverted by Mr. Saha that admittedly there is a registered deed of lease for the period of 15 years commencing from 01.11.1982 and such lease expired by efflux of time on 31.10.1997. The rent payable under the lease deed was Rs.1,100/-per month. Referring to Section 3 of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1997, Mr. Saha submits that though document is a lease by nomenclature but for all practical purposes it is tenancy agreement governed by the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act.

8. It is further contended by Mr. Saha, that award was passed on 21st April, 2015 subsequent to the expiration of the mandate of the arbitrator. Learned Arbitrator became functus officio and had no jurisdiction to pass the award. Therefore, learned Single Judge had no reason to uphold the award. It was done in the breach of statutory provision as well as in the breach of the judgement of Hon’ble Supreme Court pronounced in NBCC Limited Versus J.G. Engineering Private Limited reported in (2010) 2 SCC 385.

9. Refuting such contention of Mr. Saha, Mr. Ashoke Banerjee, learned Senior Counsel submits that the appellant made an attempt to acquire the status of a premises tenant by filing an application under Section 21 of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1997 before the Additional Rent Controller, How