Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:120505-DB Reserved on 15.07.2025 Delivered on 23.07.2025 Chief Justice's Court Case :- APPEAL UNDER SECTION 37 OF ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION ACT 1996 DEFECTIVE No. - 302 of 2024 Appellant :- Messrs Law Publishers and another Respondent :- Sri Virender Sagar and 3 others Counsel for Appellant :- Abhishek Ghosh, Kartikeya Saran, Priyanka Midha, Ram M. Kaushik, Saurabh Raj Srivastava Counsel for Respondent :- Vinay Kumar Mishra, Ankur Azad, Mayank Singh, Prem Shanker Mishra, Shashwat Anand, Vinay Kumar Mishra, Vinod Kumar Singh (Sr. Adv.)

Hon'ble Arun Bhansali,Chief Justice Hon'ble Kshitij Shailendra,J.

(Per:Kshitij Shailendra,J.)

Re: Defect in Appeal

1. A defect has been reported by the Stamp Reporting Section on account of non-filing of certified copy of the formal order. An application seeking exemption from filing the same has been moved on behalf of the appellants.

2. For the reasons stated in the application supported by affidavit, exemption as prayed for is granted. The defect, accordingly, stands removed.

Re: Appeal

3. Heard Ms. Priyanka Midha along with Shri Abhishek Ghosh and Shri Ram Kaushik, learned counsel for the appellants, Shri Vinod Kumar Singh, learned Senior Counsel, assisted by Shri Vinay Kumar Mishra and Shri Ankur Azad Advocates for the respondents and perused the material available on record.

4. The present appeal under Section 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (in short ‘the Act, 1996’) has been filed by the applicants of Arbitration Case No. 54 of 2023 challenging the order dated 25.07.2004, whereby the Commercial Court, Prayagraj has rejected their application seeking certain interim reliefs under Section 9 of the Act, 1996.

5. There is no dispute between the parties that, till today, Arbitrator to adjudicate the disputes and differences between the parties has not been appointed and an application under Section 11 of the Act, 1996 moved in that regard is pending consideration before this Court.

BRIEF FACTS

6. The dispute between the parties is in relation to a partnership business being carried out in the name and style of ‘Messers Law Publishers’ at Allahabad. The parties to the litigation are close relatives. It was alleged in the application under Section 9 of the Act, 1996 that late R.G. Sagar and late B.L. Sagar had decided to run a partnership business of publication and sale of law books. These two persons formed a partnership firm having partners, namely, R.G. Sagar, B.L Sagar, Virendra Sagar, Smt. Kamlesh, Smt. Shakti Sudha and Smt. Vibha. The first partnership deed on record is dated 01.04.1976 having disclosure of the said partners.

7. Shri B.L Sagar died on 15.04.1996 and it is alleged that the very next day, i.e. on 16.04.1996, another partnership deed was executed inducting Shri Naresh Sagar in place of late B.L. Sagar. The appellant no. 2 (in short ‘the appellant’), namely, Smt. Vibha, claiming herself to be a sleeping partner in the firm, stated in her application that the partnership was ‘at Will’; that Shri R.G. Sagar died on 09.01.1999; that another partner, namely, Smt. Kamlesh, died on 20.11.2017; that another partner Shri Subhash died on 20.05.2021 and when the appellant was informed by her few relatives at Allahabad that the respondents were trying to alienate immovable properties of the firm, being property No. 34/18-A, Sardar Patel Marg (Zone 03) and Old House No. 17/10E/1, (Zone 03) (New House No. CLA-B-464, Bhagwan Ram Mandir Marg, Allahabad), she sent a registered notice dated 21.10.2023 to the defendants questioning their act with a further request to the Sub- Registrar, Allahabad not to register any deed or allow transfer of properties without deciding the objections raised by the appellant.

8. It was further alleged in the application that the partnership deeds of 1976 and 1996 had been kept in the registered office of the firm at Sardar Patel Marg, Civil Lines, Allahabad and that a bank account was opened in the year 1983 in the Bank of