JUDGMENT :

Anil K. Narendran, J.

The appellant is the 1st defendant in O.S.No.202 of 2018 on the file of the First Additional Subordinate Judge's Court, Thiruvananthapuram, a suit filed by the 1st respondent-plaintiff against the appellant and the 2nd respondent to realise a sum of Rs.85,80,203/- towards balance cost on works undertaken by the 1st defendant in a construction contract. The plaintiff has also sought for a declaration that termination of the said contract by the 1st defendant is illegal. In O.S.No.202 of 2018, the 1st defendant filed I.A.No.2 of 2020, an application under Section 8(1) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, to refer the parties to arbitration. The plaintiff filed objections. After considering the rival contentions, the court below, by the order dated 01.03.2021, dismissed that application as not maintainable, on the ground that, since the amount sought to be recovered is in excess of Rs.85,00,000/-, in the dispute arising out of a construction and infrastructure contract, O.S.No.202 of 2018 is liable to be transferred to the Commercial Court, Thiruvananthapuram, in view of the provisions under Section 15 of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015. Challe