S. Muralidhar, J.

1. This suit for declaration and perpetual injunction is by seven plaintiffs. There are nineteen defendants in the suit. Defendant No.1 as well as Defendants 2 to 19 entered appearance through counsel at the first hearing of the suit. Defendants 2 to 19 support the Plaintiff. Defendant No.1 opposed even the issuance of summons. It was submitted on behalf of Defendant No.1 that its plea for the rejection of the plaint should be considered as being under Order VII Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 (CPC).

Background Facts

2. The background to the present suit is that the Plaintiff Companies borrowed loans from Defendant No.1 on various dates between 13th June 2005 and 4th May 2007. Each entered into a separate agreement with Defendant No.1. Each of the Plaintiff companies provided security by way of deposit of shares including shares of Gujarat Heavy Chemicals Ltd. (GHCL) and Golden Tobacco Ltd. (GTL). The seven agreements by the Plaintiff Companies with Defendant No.1 contained an identical clause concerning jurisdiction and arbitration which reads as under: “Clause 57 Jurisdiction and Arbitration Any dispute of difference arising under, or in con