1.In this petition under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (referred to as `the Act” hereinafter), the preliminary objection raised by the respondents before me that needs to be determined is, whether Clause 9 of a Memorandum of Family Settlement (MOFS) dated 3.3.2000 entered into between the parties tantamount to an arbitration agreement. If it contains an Arbitration Agreement, as contended by the petitioners, the present petition would be maintainable, but if it does not contain an Arbitration Agreement as argued by the Respondents, the present petition would fail as not being maintainable.

2.The facts giving rise to the present petition insofar as they are necessary to determine the preliminary issue may be noted. The Petitioner No. 1 and the Respondent No. 1 are brothers and the sons of Late Mr. L.P. Jaiswal. Further, Petitioner No. 2 and Respondent No. 2 are the wives of Petitioner No. 1 and Respondent No. 1 respectively.

3.Late Mr. L.P. Jaiswal founded M/s Jagatjit Industries Ltd. in the year 1944. The petitioner being one of the sons of late Shri L.P. Jaiswal headed the management of the said company since 1977. However, it appears that in the year 1999 disputes arose between the family members of late Shri L.P. Jaiswal including petitioner No.1 and respondent No.1. Litigation was initiated in this Court as well as courts in Kapurthala in the year 2000. However, these suits came to be withdrawn in November, 2003. The petitioners state that the withdrawal of the suits was prompted by, inter alia, an oral agreement reached between the parties herein on 2.3.2000 which was later reduced to writing as the MOFS on 3.3.2000. Petitioner No.1 Mr. Jagatjit Jaiswal and his wife on the one hand, and respondent No.1 Mr. Karamjit S. Jaiswal and his wife on the other hand, represented themselves and their family members respectively in the MOFS and were referred to as JJ Family Group and KSJ Family group respectively.

4.As per the recitals contained in the MOFS, as per an oral settlement within the L.P. Jaiswal family, 14 companies scheduled therewith had fallen to the share of the parties, which included M/s Jagatjit Industries Ltd. The same was entered into with an object to avoid disputes and litigation among the parties and to maintain peace, harmony and good relations among them. The MOFS records that the parties would hold equal shares in the 14 companies listed in the MOFS. They would jointly manage these companies and would enjoy equal benefits, rights and privileges. Neither party would exclude the other, either directly or indirectly from the joint management or equal benefits. The public limited companies were to be managed professionally with the assistance of professional managers, who were to be appointed by the mutual agreement of petitioner No.1 and respondent No.1. Even their duties and responsibilities were to be assigned by mutual agreement of petitioner No.1 and respondent No.1. They also agreed to formation of an Audit Committee, of which both of them would also be members, to jointly supervise and control the management of the said companies. The MOFS provided for the equal representation of the parties on the Board of Directors of the companies, appointment of independent directors, and put restrictions on the two groups to mortgage, pledge, transfer or dispose off the shares of the companies or to do any act which would result in the dilution of the equal control of the two group in the companies listed in the MOFS.

5.The MOFS also contained clause 9 whereby a Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) was to be constituted. The said clause which calls for interpretation, reads as follows: 9. The Parties agreed to nominate and constitute a committee hereinafter to be referred to as the Dispute Resolution Committee comprising of persons acceptable to them. It is agreed that the Parties shall be bound to refer all disputes between them relating to any matter or dealings between the