JUDGMENT :

(Civil Miscellaneous Appeals are filed under Order 37(2) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996, against the common order dated 16.09.2019 in A.Nos.1 to 3 of 2019 in O.P.No.573 of 2019 (hereinafter, referred to as the 'Impugned Order') passed by the Sole Arbitrator.)

Today, i.e. on 31.01.2020, when the matter is taken up for pronouncing Judgment, the learned counsel for the respondent represented before this Court that the matter has been settled before the Learned Arbitrator. But no order copy or any memo has been produced before this Court to that effect. Hence this Court pronounces the following Judgment :

1. These Civil Miscellaneous Appeals have been filed against the common order dated 16.09.2019 passed in A.Nos.1 to 3 of 2019 in O.P.No.573 of 2019 (hereinafter, referred to as 'Impugned Order') by the Sole Arbitrator.

2. The brief facts of the case is that the respondent is a partnership firm engaged in the business of production of films. A partner of the appellant firm approached the respondent for producing a Tamil film called “Jarugandi” and sought for financial aid to the tune of Rs.2.75 Crores. It was agreed to complete the movie and release it by February 2019, but it was not completed by that time and the respondent claimed to have paid the entire sum of the agreed loan amount. The appellant firm required an additional loan of Rs.1 Crore to complete the said film and hence the respondent was constrained to advance such amount. The appellant also assured the respondent to repay such loan and further loan from the proceeds of the said film and in the event of any shortfall, then the same would be repaid from their next production. The respondent also financed a sum of Rs.1,58,80,454/- for publicity and release and thus, the total amount financed by the respondent came to Rs.5,38,15,455/-.

3. The parties entered into an agreement on 28.09.2017, and since there was a shortfall in repayment of the said sum, which led to certain disputes and the respondent filed O.A.No.548 of 2019 along with A.No.3620 of 2019 seeking for an interim injunction against the appellant from encumbering or alienating or exhibiting or causing the exhibition of the next film pending disposal of the proposed arbitration and for a direction to render true and proper accounts of the film “Jarugandi”. The appellant resisted the applications disputing the quantum of amount financed by the respondent and the amount due to them. This Court after perusing the materials on record dismissed the applications and directed the parties to initiate Arbitral proceedings within a period of two weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of the order, and subsequently, the respondent filed O.P.No.573 of 2019 seeking for appointment of a Sole Arbitrator to resolve the disputes that have arisen with the appellant in terms of the agreement dated 28.09.2017. The learned counsels appeared on either side have agreed for appointment of a retired Judge of this Court as the Sole Arbitrator and hence this Court has allowed the said O.P. and appointed the Hon'ble Mr.Justice K.P.Sivasubramaniam, a retired Judge of this Court, residing at No.47, Pulla Avenue, Shenoy Nagar, Chennai – 600 030 (Phone No.26208788), as the Sole Arbitrator to enter upon reference and to adjudicate the disputes inter se the parties.

4. The respondent after the appointment of the Sole Arbitrator filed O.S.A.No.174 of 2019 before this Court against the order passed by the Learned Single Judge in O.A.No.548 of 2019. This Court holding that the matter has been referred to the Learned Arbitrator disposed of the O.S.A. filed by the respondent by making it clear that the Learned Arbitrator would decide the issue without influences of the orders passed by this Court. Subsequently, the respondent filed three interim applications under Section 17 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 in