Ashok Bhan, J.

1. This judgment shall dispose of civil revision petitions No. 823 to 832, 586 to 598 and 605 to 617 of 1988, which arise between the parties on the same set of facts giving rise to common questions of law and fact. The facts being taken from briefly stated the facts are :

Sutlej Land Finance Private Limited Financiers and Transporters with their registered office at Jalandhar (hereinafter referred to as "the respondents") filed through its director Shri Ajit Singh Deogan a petition under Section 20 of the Indian Arbitration Act, 1940 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"), against Hoshiarpur Azad Transport Company Limited. Hoshi-arpur, through its general manager (hereinafter referred to as "the petitioner") for reference of the dispute which had arisen between the parties to the sole arbitrator S. Avtar Manmohanjit Singh, advocate, Jalandhar. It was alleged that the petitioner had hired bus No. PNH-3587, T.D. Jai Chand Bhasin v. Union of India, AIR 1983 Delhi 508 1968 engine No. 312-97-800-1016, chassis No. 342-050-860-6460 on hire purchase basis from respondents, vide hire purchase agreement dated December 19, 1980, that Baba Ram Singh respondent No. 2 sto