The grant of interim directions resembling the main relief is not permissible in law, and the revival of the lease agreement could not be granted as an interim measure.

JUDGMENT :

N.V.Anjaria, J.

By presenting this appeal under section 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 read with section 13 of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, the appellant seeks to challenge order dated 26th October, 2021 passed by the Commercial Court – the City Civil Court, Ahmedabad, in Commercial Civil Misc. Application No. 503 of 2021. It was an application filed by the appellant-applicant under section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 which came to be dismissed as per the impugned order.

2. Learned advocates for the respective parties stated that the pleadings in the appeal were completed and they did not want to add or supplement the same any further.

2.1 Learned advocates for the parties relied on the copies of the documents which were on record before the Commercial Court. They were ad idem in respect of the contents of the said documents, which were relied on in course of hearing of the appeal. The appeal was accordingly finally heard as per the request and consent of the parties appearing through their respective learned advocates.

3. The following prayers were made by the appellant-applicant in application under section 9 of the Arbitration Act,

“pending the commencement, hearing and final disposal of the present Application as well as Arbitral proceedings, and 12 weeks after the award is passed, this Hon’ble Court be pleased to direct the Respondent to forthwith provide essential services, especially, functional Lifts, Operational Air Condition at 2nd and 3rd Floors, Functional Escalators, Common Drinking Water Facility, Common Toilets, Repairing of Water Leakages, submit Fire Safety Certificate and NOC to the applicant etc., in the Mall that is otherwise contractual obligation of Respondent so that the Applicant can enjoy peaceful possession of the leased premises as directed by this Hon’ble Court vide Order dated 31.7.2021 in Commercial CMA No. 424 of 2021 in the interest of justice.”

3.1 The appellant is a private limited company carrying on business in the name of Time Cinemas, involved in running motion pictures and other such entertainment activities. The appellant entered into a lease agreement with the respondent, which is a company engaged in the business of leasing the real estate properties developed by it. The lease deed dated 14.4.2017 was in respect of shell space admeasuring 17,459 sq.ft carpet area on the 3rd floor of Retail Mall known as C. G. Square Mall at C.G.Road, Ahmedabad on the land bearing Final Plot Nos. 612/part, 613, 610, 612/part-I in Town Planning Scheme No. 3/6 at Kochrab, Sabarmati, Ahmedabad. Another lease deed dated 26.8.2019 was executed between the parties, whereby additional shell space adjacent to the space under the first lease deed was leased out. The period of lease was 10 years. It was agreed that the appellant would use the leased premises for the purpose of exhibiting the films. Fixtures in the leased premises to facilitate the cinema and cinema related activities were installed by the appellant, it was stated.

3.1.1 The respondent issued Notice dated 20.5.2021 asking the applicant to vacate the leased premises by 30.06.2021 on the ground of nonpayment of lease rent etc.. According to the applicant, however, it had been paying the lease rent and charges for common area maintenance regularly in compliance of the conditions of the lease deeds and any lapse had not occurred. It was stated by the appellant-the applicant that nonpayment of the rent from 1.4.2020 was on account of suspension of the activities due to outbreak of Covid 19 pandemic. It was stated that the State Government had issued notification to close cinemas which rendered it impossible to carry on the business.

3.2 It may be mentioned that before filling Commercial Civil Misc. Application No. 503 of 2021 resulting into the impugned order, the appellant had filed another Commercial Civil Misc. Application No. 424 of 2021 under section 9 of the Act. The prayers for interim measures in the