A clause that contemplates reference of disputes arising from a contract for decision of a designated person, whose decision shall be final and binding, amounts to an arbitration clause.

( 1 ) THIS is a petition filed under Section 20 of the Indian Arbitration Act seeking directions for filing the arbitration agreement and for appointment of arbitrator and for reference of disputes as mentioned in annexure a attached with the petition for decision by the arbitrator. Reply has been filed by the respondents in contesting the petition.

( 2 ) ONLY legal questions have been raised and thus, I have heard arguments for deciding the petition finally.

( 3 ) THE first contention raised by the learned counsel for the respondents is that the petition is not maintainable inasmuch as in the body of the petition the petitioner has not mentioned about the disputes which are liable of be REFERRED TO to the arbitrator and he has placed reliance on Villayati Ram Mittal v. Union of India and Others, AIR 1981 Delhi 313 and M/s. Rai Bahadur Basakha Singh and Sons (Contractors) Private Limited v. M/s. Indian Drugs and Pharmaceutical Ltd. , AIR 1979 Delhi 220, in support of his contention.

( 4 ) COUNSEL for the petitioner, on the other hand, has contended that the petition itself recites that the disputes which are sought to be REFERRED TO to the arbitrator are detailed out in annexure a attached with the petition and thus, annexure a becomes part of the petition and hence, there is no merit in the contention raised by the learned counsel for the respondents and the judgments cited by the learned counsel for the respondents are distinguishable on facts.

( 5 ) IN para 3 of the petition it has been specifically mentioned that the petitioner invokes the arbitration clause and the claims/disputes are tabulated in annexure a attached with the petition. So, it is evident that annexure a is not a separate document and has to be treated as part of the petition. A similar question came before the Circuit Bench of Punjab and Haryana High Court at Delhi Mrs. Sarda Rani v. Malik Yashpal, 1964 (66) Punjab Law Reporter 1126,-on the point whether the documents which have been REFERRED TO to in the plaint are to be treated as part of the pleadings or not? It was held that the object of pleadings is to ascretain for the guidance of the parties and Court material facts in issue, with the result that pleadings are not to be too strictly, narrowly or pendantically construed and where a document is REFERRED TO to and relied on in the pleadings, the contents of that document might well be considered to constitute a part of the pleadings. In the said case, the document happened to be a notice by the landlord to the tenant relating to the subject matter of the controversy. It was held that the contents of such documents are to be deemed part of the pleadings and the opposite parly is fixed with the knowledge of such contents. In re: Pandam Tea Company Limited, 1972 Taxation Law Reports 1923, a Single Judge of the Calcutta High Court also held that annexures to the pleadings are part of the pleadings.

( 6 ) IN the case of M/s. Rai Bahadur Basakha Singh (supra) a Single Judge of this Court held that where an application for filing arbitration agreement does not contain particulars of items of disputes to be REFERRED TO,reference to arbitral or cannot be made and the plea that copies of notice and other documents accompanying the petition contain the particulars of dispute is not available as those documents do not form part of the petition. On facts the case is distinguishable. Mere fact that some documents have been filed alongwith the petition would not make those documents part of the pleadings but if the documents are REFERRED TO to and relied upon in the petition or plaint, they obviously become part of the petition or the plaint. Similarly in the case of Villayati Ram (supra), it was laid down that the petition under Section 20 of the Arbitration Act for filing of agreement and making an appointment of an arbitrator would not be maintainable in absence of pleadings of disputes even if the letter which was served upon the respondents