JUDGMENT :

1. The extraordinary jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India is sought to be invoked by filing this writ petition. The petitioner who is the Executive Engineer, Public Health Engineering, Karimganj has approached this Court against a proceeding pending before the learned District Judge, Karimganj wherein a Writ of Attachment was issued. The said writ/warrant of Attachment is in connection with the final Award made by the Industry Facilitation Council dated 20.05.2005 whereby the authority in the Public Health Engineering Department was directed to pay a sum of Rs.4,98,076/- under the statute holding the field, namely, The Interest on Delayed Payments To Small Scale and Ancillary Industrial Undertakings Act, 1993, awarded in case of a dispute raised under the provision of the said Act. For the said purpose, an Industry Facilitation Council is constituted which would adjudicate the dispute relating to such claim.

2. As per Section 6(2) of the Act of 1993 an award passed by the Industry Facilitation Council is to be treated at par with an award passed under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 and the provision of the said Act would apply mutatis mutandis. In the instant case, the award dated 20.05.2005 which was inter-parte one, was put for enforcement by filing an execution case before the learned Court of the District Judge, Karimganj in terms of Section 2(e) of the Act of 1996 which defines Court as the Court of Principal Civil Judge of a District having original jurisdiction.

3. The learned District Judge after registering the case as Money Execution Case No. 1/2009 had issued a Writ of Attachment which is the subject matter of dispute. It to be noted that while such writ/warrant of attachment was issued on 16.12.2010 itself, on 11.08.2011, the learned District Judge, Karimganj had recorded that a petition No. 134/2013 was filed by the judgment debtor praying for 3 months time for payment of the decreetal amount. Accordingly, 29.09.2011 was fixed as the next date. The learned District Judge, Karimganj had passed an order dated 21.07.2011 issuing a warrant of attachment on the failure to satisfy the award of the learned Industry Facilitation Council by quantifying the amount as Rs. 19,85,437/- and in the schedule the property to be attached have also been enumerated which included a truck, computers, almirahs, chairs and tables from the office of the Executive Engineer, PHE, Karimganj.

4. It may be mentioned that initially, the decree holder had filed a writ petition being WP(C) No. 5614/2008 before this Court praying for implementation of the award of the learned Industry Facilitation Council. This Court vide order dated 05.01.2009 after observing that a recourse for execution is prescribed in section 6(2) of the Act had closed the writ petition with liberty to the petitioner to approach the appropriate forum to a redressal of the grievance. It is after the aforesaid order of this Court, the execution case was filed at Karimganj.

5. Heard Ms. M. Dev, learned counsel for the petitioner as well as Shri M.K. Choudhury, learned Senior Counsel, for the respondents. Also heard Ms. K. Phukan, learned Government Advocate.

6. Ms. M. Dev, learned counsel for the petitioner has at the outset questioned the jurisdiction of the learned Court of the District Judge at Karimganj itself. It is submitted that since the Award was passed by the learned Industry Facilitation Council at Guwahati, the Court of the District Judge, Guwahati would have been the Court having jurisdiction under the statute holding the field. She submits that jurisdiction being the basic requirement for adjudication, the entire impugned proceeding is vitiated as the same has been before a Court without any jurisdiction and accordingly the proceeding in general and the Warrant of Attachment in particular are not sustainable in law. The learned counsel further submits that even otherwise, the adjudication could not have been or