FAO No.5081 of 2006 - 1 - ******* IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH FAO No.5081 of 2006 Date of decision:10.09.2010. M/s Sanjiv Jain & Co., Zira and others ...Appellants Versus The Punjab State Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd. and others ...Respondents CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE RAKESH KUMAR JAIN Present: Mr. Vishal Garg, Advocate, for the appellant. Mr. Simarjeet Singh, Advocate, for respondent Nos.1 and 2. ***** RAKESH KUMAR JAIN, J. This appeal is directed against arbitral award dated 31.12.2001 and order of the District Judge, Ferozepur dated 07.08.2006 dismissing objection filed by the appellants under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 [for short “the Act”]. The respondent Nos.1 and 2 were the claimants before the Arbitrator who have been held entitled by the Arbitrator vide his award dated 31.12.2001 to recover an amount of ` 12,60,055/- with interests @ 21% per annum w.e.f. 01.12.1998 till the date of its realization. The learned District Judge, Ferozepur vide his order dated 07.08.2006 FAO No.5081 of 2006 - 2 - ******* dismissed the objection filed by the appellants on various grounds including the ground that the appellant was incompetent to sue being unregistered firm. Aggrieved against both the orders, the appellants have come up in appeal before this Court under Section 37 of the Act in which the only argument raised is that the Arbitrator has acted without jurisdiction in deciding the 'excepted matter'. In this regard, learned counsel for respondent Nos.1 and 2 has submitted that no such objection was raised by the appellants before the Arbitrator, therefore, it cannot be raised before this Court for the first time. As a matter of fact, the question of law involved in this appeal is that “whether objection about jurisdiction of the Arbitrator could be raised for the first time in the petition under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 [for short “the Act”] if it is not taken before the Arbitrator.” This point/question, which is involved in this appeal, has already been decided by this Court in FAO No.2283 of 2008 titled as 'M/s Gupta Rice Mill (P) Ltd. v. The Punjab State Co-operative Supply and Marketing Federation Ltd.' decided on 25.08.2010, after following a Division Bench judgment of the Delhi High Court in the case of S.N. Malhotra and Sons v. Airport Authority of India and others, 2008(4) A.D. (Delhi) 424. In that case, it has been held that if the question of jurisdiction of the Arbitrator is not raised before him in terms of Section 16 of the Act, it cannot be raised for the first time either in the proceedings under Section 34 of the Act or in the appeal under Section 37 of the Act. In view thereof, I do not find any merit in the present appeal and as such, the same is hereby dismissed, however, without any order as to costs. September 10, 2010 (RAKESH KUMAR JAIN) vinod* JUDGE