The failure to fulfill contractual obligations and the existence of an arbitration clause can entitle a party to seek relief under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.

Manmohan Singh, J.

1. The petitioner has filed the abovementioned petition under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.

2. The case of the petitioner is that respondent No.1 contacted the petitioner and offered to show the premises to the petitioner, i.e. Ground Floor, A-41, Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area, Main Mathura Road, New Delhi-110044 admeasuring 6720 Sq.ft. along with parking space for 3 cars, for leasing the same out to the petitioner on a fully furnished basis. Pursuant thereto, the petitioner agreed to take the demised premises on lease from respondent No.1 on a monthly rent of Rs.5,29,200/-for a period of three years. A Lease Deed was executed in this regard on 15th March, 2013 and the same was registered in the office of Sub Registrar-V, New Delhi on 2nd April, 2013.

3. It was agreed between the parties that respondent No.1 would provide 70 workstations and 7 cabins as incubation space to the petitioner from 1st December, 2012. The parties executed a Maintenance Agreement on 17th October, 2012 regarding the provision and maintenance of various facilities, including air conditioning, power back up, water supply etc. The infrastructure which was to be provided and maintained by respondent No.1 was set out in Annexure-I to the Maintenance Agreement upon payment of monthly maintenance charges of Rs.1,00,800/- by the petitioner.

4. It is submitted that the air conditioning in the demised premises was not at all efficient or effective resulting in a number of complaints from the staff of the petitioner. A temperature of 22C should be maintained in order to ensure a comfortable working atmosphere. However, the same was not being maintained by the respondents. The petitioner wrote a e-mail dated 22nd April, 2013 to M/s Espire Consolidated Services Pvt. Ltd. (respondent No.2), the firm engaged by respondent No.1 to provide and maintain the facilities as per the agreement, bringing all the aforementioned facts along with other problems. The same was replied to by respondent No.2 vide its e-mail dated 23rd April, 2013. It was claimed that the temperature being maintained was of 24C, however, an assurance was given that a maintenance team would look into the issue of effectiveness of the A/C. Another e-mail dated 30th April, 2013 was sent by the petitioner to the respondent stating that not even 24C was being maintained. It was also pointed out that proper air conditioning was the responsibility of the respondent. The said e-mail was replied to by the respondent on the same day, i.e. 30th April, 2013. It was stated that there was no fault in the air conditioning. It was also stated in the said e-mail that if the petitioner so desires, it could install its own air conditioning at its own cost and not at the cost of the respondent.

5. Another e-mail was sent by the petitioner to the respondent on 1st May, 2013, once again intimating that if the problem is not rectified within three days, the petitioner would be constrained to install its own air conditioners, the cost of which shall be debited to the account of the respondent. The said e-mail was replied to by the respondent vide its e-mail dated 2nd May, 2013 wherein it was stated that an inspection was carried out to ascertain the problem and resolve the issue. It was also stated that the wooden partition in the cabin of the MD needs to be opened up so that air can flow in. An e-mail was received by the petitioner on 3rd May, 2013 stating that the partition in the cabin of the MD would have to be removed since the inlet and outlet of the air conditioner is in the same room.

6. The petitioner, vide its e-mail dated 13th May, 2013 intimated to the respondent that the petitioner would be calling its own experts and would be rectifying the situation. The said e-mail was replied to by the respondent on the same day admitting that the air conditioning was not effective in a few areas and requesting for some time to provide a solution. The petitioner se