JUDGMENT :

Om Prakash Shukla, J.

1. Heard Mr Brijesh Kumar Saxena Learned Advocate appearing for UPEIDA and Mr. Jaideep Narain Mathur, Learned Senior Advocate along with Mr. Pritish Kumar representing M/s Sahakar Global Ltd.

2. A short but seminal question arises in the present Appeal filed under section 37 of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 (as amended) by the Uttar Pradesh Expressways industrial Development Authority (for short UPEIDA) against an ad-interim Injunction order dated 12.09.2022 (Impugned Order) passed by the Learned Commercial Court, Lucknow under section 9 of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 (as amended). Apparently, in the said impugned order the Learned Commercial Court has directed the parties to maintain ‘status quo” with respect to the performance Bank Guarantee, furnished by the Respondent Contractor – M/s Sahakar Global Ltd.

3. The Appellants have submitted that the said “Status Quo” order passed by the Learned Commercial Court, Lucknow as per the impugned order, not only amounts to restraining the invocation and/or encashment of Performance Bank Guarantee by them but also amounts to final adjudication of the pending section 9 petition itself as the nature of relief, which can be obtained/granted under a proceeding under section 9 of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 can be only interim in nature as any dispute can be finally decided in an arbitration proceedings before the Learned Arbitral Tribunal. Thus, it has been urged by the appellant that since a status quo order has been passed nothing remains in the pending section 9 petition to be decided and as such this court has been called upon to set aside the impugned order as well as dismiss the pending section 9 petition.

4. The genesis of dispute in the present case can be capitulated in the following manner:

(i) UPEIDA and M/s Sahakar Global Ltd. entered into a Contract Agreement dated 13.10.2020, which provided collection of user fee at such rates from the vehicles in terms of the U.P. Toll Rules, 2020 at the 17 designated Toll Plazas, located on the Agra-Lucknow Express way.

(ii) M/s Sahakar Global Ltd. was required to pay one year contract amount of Rs.402,39,00000/- (Rupees Four Hundred Two Crores and Thirty Lakhs only) divided by number of days in a year (365 or 366 as the case may be) and multiplied by seven on weekly basis every Thursday to UPEIDA. For the subsequent second year of contract, the payable amount was to be escalated by 10% till end of the contract tenure.

(iii) The period of contract commenced on 15.10.2020 (00:00 hours) until 14.10.2022 (23:59:59 hours).

(iv) In terms of the contract, M/s Sahakar Global Ltd furnished five Bank Guarantees all valid and subsisting upto January 31, 2023 for a total sum of Rs.33,53,25,000/- (Rupees Thirty Three Crore Fifty Three lakhs and Twenty Five Thousand only) in favour of the present Appellant as performance security.

(v) As per M/s Sahakar global Ltd. a serious dispute arose between the parties in connection with the contract Agreement with regard to (a) Stamp Duty and (b) Force Majeure reliefs, which required to be adjudicated by a duly constituted Arbitral Tribunal.

(vi) As far as