JUDGMENT :

Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud, J.

1. The present appeal raises the issue of whether a private agreement entered into between the Appellant and the second Respondent in the form of the Constitution and Bye Laws of the latter can, by conferring exclusive jurisdiction on the courts at Chennai, oust the writ jurisdiction of the Bombay High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution.

2. Clause 21 of the Constitution and Bye Laws of the second Respondent is as follows:

“21. Legal Course

(i) The Federation shall sue and or be sued only in the name of the Hon. Secretary of the Federation.

(ii) Any Suits/Legal actions against the Federation shall be instituted only in the Courts at Chennai, where the Registered Office of All India Chess Federation is situated or at the place where the Secretariat of the All India Chess Federation is functioning”

3. The second Respondent, the All India Chess Federation is a society registered under the Societies Registration Act 1860 [“The Act of 1860”]. It is a central governing authority for chess in India. The Appellant is a society registered under the Act of 1860 and was an affiliated member of the second Respondent since 1978. On 25 December 2016, the