FAO No. 4689 of 2008 [1] IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH FAO No. 4689 of 2008 (O&M) Date of decision: 21.4.2011 Raja Ram & Sons Pvt. Ltd. .. Appellant v. Union of India and others .. Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAJESH BINDAL Present: Mr. Vishal Garg, Advocate for the appellant. Mr. Ram Chander, Advocate for respondents No. 1 to 3. ... Rajesh Bindal J. Challenge in the present appeal is to the order dated 9.2.2008, passed by the learned court below, whereby the objections filed by the appellant against the award dated 17.8.2001 passed by the Arbitrator, were dismissed. Learned counsel for the appellant submitted that the appellant had raised claims before respondents No. 1 to 3 for reference to the arbitration on account of the dispute regarding payment of amount due to it for the work carried out. Respondents No. 1 to 3 having not referred the entire claims to the Arbitrator, the appellant had filed a petition under Section 8 of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 (for short, `the Act') before the civil court. As the same was pending, the appellant neither put in appearance before the Arbitrator nor filed the claim statement as the decision on its petition by the court would have bearing on the arbitration proceedings. After the conclusion of arbitration proceedings, the petition filed by the appellant under Section 8 of the Act was dismissed as infructuous. FAO No. 4689 of 2008 [2] On the other hand, learned counsel for respondents No. 1 to 3 submitted that the appellant merely filed a claim before the contractee. Once the matter was referred to the arbitration, the appellant neither filed its claim statement nor appeared before the Arbitrator in support thereof. It was merely pursuing the application filed under Section 8 of the Act before the civil court. In fact, the appellant could very well raise these pleas before the Arbitrator under Sections 13 and 16 of the Act, as even the Arbitrator was competent to go into this aspect of the matter. Once the appellant had not even filed its claim statement before the Arbitrator, he had not choice but to pass a nil award. After hearing learned counsel for the parties, I do not find any merit in the present appeal. It is not disputed that the appellant in the present case had not filed any claim statement before the Arbitrator. It also did not put in appearance before him. In the absence thereof, the only choice before the Arbitrator was to pass a nil award. Merely stating that a petition under Section 8 of the Act was pending in the court and on that account, the appellant did not appear before the Arbitrator, cannot be accepted as such, as it should have raised the pleas before the Arbitrator whatever were available to it in law. Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed. (Rajesh Bindal) Judge 21.4.2011 mk