( 1 ) THESE are six applications (I. A. 4316/82 in Suit No. 1392-A/81, I. A. 3302/81 in Suit No. 1090-A/81, I. A. in Suit No. 1091-A/81, I. A. No. 1093/81, A. I. 3020/31 in Suit No. 852/81 and I. A. 3371/81 in Suit No. 1108/81) under Section 41 read with Schedule 1 of the Arbitration Act. 1940 and Order 39 Rules 1 and 2 read with Section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure, in six different petitions u/s 20 of the Arbitration Act and raise common questions as to the nature of the obligation of a bank under a bank guarantee or performance guarantee, the legal incidents of such a guarantee and the extent to which a Court may interfere in the payment of the amount which the bank has bound itself to do, during the pendency of a reference of the disputes under the primary agreement to arbitration or of the arbitration proceedings pursuant to it.

( 2 ). The primary contracts, containing the arbitration clause, in cases of 1. Ass. 3302, 3303, 3312, 3020 and 3371 of 1981, were entered into between Uppal Engineering Construction Company Pvt. Ltd , and the Central Warehousing Corporation. The Primary contract in the case of I. A. 4316/81, containing the arbitration clause, was