R.C. Lahoti, J. -- 1. The plaintiff has come up in appeal aggrieved by an order of the trial Court holding an application u/s 20 of the Arbitration Act, 1940 to be not maintainable on account of bar created by section 69(1) of Indian Partnership Act, 1932.

2. The plaintiff and defendants entered into a partnership on 15.12.1976. It appears that the defendant No. 1 received certain payments relating to partnership and misappropriated the amount to his own use without distributing the same in accordance with the terms of partnership. On 1.6.1979, an application u/s 20 of the Arbitration Act was filed seeking filing of the partnership agreement, incorporating the arbitration agreement, in the Court and, thereafter, taking an account through arbitration of the amount due and payable to the plaintiff and awarding the same to the plaintiff.

3. The plaintiff also moved an application seeking an interim injunction restraining the defendant No. 1 from realising any other payments due to the partnership.

4. The defendant No. 1 filed a reply to the application and took an objection therein that the partnership being not registered, the application was not maintainable. Therein, it was a