Applicant M/s. Sindh Construction Company, made an application under Section 8 of the Arbitration Act with a prayer that the opposite party, namely, the Union of India through the General Manager, Northern Railway he directed to appoint an arbitrator as provided in Clause 64 of the general conditions of the agreement under which the Company had carried on some work for the Union of India. The application under Section 8 was rejected by the Civil Judge, Mirzapur, inter alia on the ground that it had not been presented within the period of limitation.

2. The case of the applicant was that there was no period of limitation governing such applications so that it could be presented at any time. The Union of India, on the contrary, took the plea that the period of limitation for such applications was provided for in Article 137 of the Schedule to the Limitation Act, 1963 and inasmuch as the applicant had not made the application within that period, he could not be permitted to seek any direction from the Court in the matter of appointment of arbitrator. The contention on behalf of the Union of India was accepted by the Court below.

3. Before the Court below several authorities were cited

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