IN THE HIGH COURT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH

AT SRINAGAR

(COMMERCIAL DIVISION SRINAGAR WING )

Reserved on: 11.12.2025 Pronounced on: 19.12.2025 Uploaded on: 19.12.2025 Whether the operative part or full judgment is

pronounced: Full

AA No.37/2017

HINDUSTAN PETROLEUM CORPORATION LTD.

...PETITIONER(S)/APPELLANT(S)

Through: - Mr. M. M. Dar, Advocate, with

Mr. Zaffar Mehdi, Advocate.

Vs.

M/S FAKHRUDIN FILLING STATION

...RESPONDENT(S)

Through: - None.

CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE SANJAY DHAR, JUDGE

JUDGMENT

1.

The appellant has, through the medium of present

appeal filed under Section 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, challenged judgment dated 26-08-2017, passed by the learned Principal District Judge Srinagar, whereby petition under Section 34 of the J&K Arbitration and Conciliation Act, filed by the respondent challenging award dated 01.12.2015 passed by the Arbitral Tribunal presided over by Mr. Parvinder Singh, the sole Arbitrator,

has been set aside.

2.

Briefly stated the facts leading to filing of the present

appeal are that in the year 2005, the appellant Corporation

invited applications for allotment of dealership of retail petroleum outlet at village Newa, Pulwama. The respondent applied for allotment of the said Retail Outlet and in this regard, letter of intent came to be issued by the Appellant Corporation in favour of the respondent in December 2005, pursuant whereto, an agreement came to be executed between the parties in the month of June 2006. It appears that a civil suit was filed by one Javed Ahmad Wani against the appellant Corporation as well as against the respondent by impleading them as defendants, claiming interest in the retail outlet. It was noticed that the respondent had executed an agreement dated 29^th February 2008, in favour of said Javed Ahmad, in terms whereof he had illegally handed over physical possession of the retail outlet to said Javed Ahmad in violation of the terms and conditions of the dealership agreement.

3.

It seems that a show cause notice dated 28-05-2009 was issued by the appellant Corporation to the respondent asking him to explain his position in regard to violation of terms of the Dealership Agreement. The respondent filed his reply to the show cause notice in which he claimed that due to demise of his grandmother, he had allowed Shri Javed Ahmad to work as a caretaker manager temporarily but said Javed Ahmed had tried to blackmail him. It appears that the appellant Corporation did not take any further action against the respondent after receipt of reply to the show cause notice from him.

4.

Again in the month of February 2013, it came to the notice of the appellant Corporation that the cash credit facility which the respondent had availed for operating the retail outlet was being operated by one Mohammed Akbar Mir. The appellant Corporation came to know about this fact when the amount of fine imposed upon the retail outlet of the respondent was deposited through a payee’s account cheque which was signed by Mohammed Akbar Mir. Pursuant to this, inspection of the premises was conducted by the officers of the appellant Corporation and it was found that the retail outlet was being operated by Mohammed Akbar Mir in violation of the dealership agreement.

5.

A show cause notice dated 17-06-2013 was issued by the appellant Corporation to the respondent through registered post and one copy of the same is stated to have been handed over to the person who was running the affairs of the outlet at the allotted site. The show cause notice sent to the respondent through registered post was received back undelivered with the report “addressee was out of station”. Another show cause notice dated 22-08-2013 was issued by the appellant Corporation to the respondent and the same was sent at his residential address asking him to submit his reply within 15 days. Ultimately, the show cause notice was delivered to the respondent in person by the representative of the appellant Corporation at Jammu and one notice was s