Case: M/S RAVI RANJAN DEVELOPERS PVT. LTD Vs. ADITYA KUMAR CHATTERJEE

in India. 39. The judgment of this Court in BGS SGS Soma JV (supra) cited by Mr. Sanjay Ghosh, was also rendered in the context of Section 2(2) of the A&C Act and the applicability of Part I of the A&C Act to an international commercial arbitration, where the seat of arbitration was not in India. 40. In Hindustan Construction Company Limited (supra), this Court held that once the seat of arbitration is designated, the same operates as an exclusive jurisdiction clause and only Courts within whose jurisdiction the seat was located, would have jurisdiction to the exclusion of all other Courts. In the facts and circumstances of that case this Court found that Courts at New Delhi alone would have jurisdiction for the purpose of challenge to the Award. 41. It is well settled that a judgment is a precedent for the issue of law that is raised and decided. The judgment has to be construed in the backdrop of the facts and circumstances in which the judgment has been rendered. Words, phrases and sentences in a judgment, cannot be read out of context. Nor is a judgment to be read and interpreted in the manner of a statute. It is only the law as interpreted by in an earlier judgment, which constitutes a binding precedent, and not everything that the Judges say. 42. It can never be an absolute general proposition of law, that where an arbitration agreement says that the place of arbitration is Faridabad/Delhi and proceedings under Part I of the A&C Act are also validly initiated in Faridabad, the Court in Faridabad would, notwithstanding Section 42 of the A&C Act, lose its jurisdiction, just because arbitration is later conducted in Delhi and Award is made in Delhi. 43. This Court has perused the Development Agreement. The contention of the Respondent in the Affidavit in Opposition, that the parties to the arbitration agreement had agreed to submit to the jurisdiction of Calcutta High Court, is not correct. The parties to the arbitration agreement only agreed that the sittings of the Arbitral Tribunal would be in Kolkata. Kolkata was the venue for holding the sittings of the Arbitral Tribunal. 44. In Union of India v. Hardy Exploration and Production (India) Inc. (2019) 13 SCC 472 a three Judge Bench of this Court held that the sittings at various places are relatable to venue. It cannot be equated with the seat of arbitration or place of arbitration, which has a different connotation. 45. In Mankastu Impex Private Limited v. Airvisual Limited (2020) 5 SCC 399 a three Judge Bench of which one of us (Hon. A.S. Bopanna, J) was a member, held: 19. The seat of arbitration is a vital aspect of any arbitration proceedings. Significance of the seat of arbitration is that it determines the applicable law when deciding the arbitration proceedings and arbitration procedure as well as judicial review over the arbitration award. The situs is not just about where an institution is based or where the hearings will be held. But it is all about which court would have the supervisory power over the arbitration proceedings. In Enercon (India) Ltd. v. Enercon GmbH [Enercon (India) Ltd. v. Enercon GmbH, (2014) 5 SCC 1 : (2014) 3 SCC (Civ) 59] , the Supreme Court held that : (SCC pp. 43 & 46, paras 97 & 107) [T]he location of the seat will determine the courts that will have exclusive jurisdiction to oversee the arbitration proceedings. It was further held that the seat normally carries with it the choice of that countrys arbitration/curial law. 20. It is well settled that seat of arbitration and venue of arbitration cannot be used interchangeably. It has also been established that mere expression place of arbitration cannot be the basis to determine the intention of the parties that they have intended that place as the seat of arbitration. The intention of the parties as to the seat should be determined from other clauses in the agreement and the conduct of the parties. 46. In this case, the Development Agreement provided that the sittings of the Arbitral Tribunal would be conducted in Kolkata. As observed above, the parties never agreed to submit to the jurisdiction of Calcutta High Court in respect of disputes, nor did the parties agree upon Kolkata as the seat of arbitration. Kolkata was only the venue for sittings of the Arbitral Tribunal. 47. It is well settled that, when two or more Courts have jurisdiction to adjudicate disputes arising out of an arbitration agreement, the parties might, by agreement, decide to refer all disputes to any one Court to the exclusion of all other Courts, which might otherwise have had jurisdiction to decide the disputes. The parties cannot, however, by consent, confer jurisdiction on a Court which inherently lacked jurisdiction, as argued by Mr. Sinha. 48. In this case, the parties, as observed above did not agree to refer their disputes to the jurisdiction of the Courts in Kolkata. It was not the intention of the parties that Kolkata should be the seat of arbitration. Kolkata was only intended to be the venue for arbitration sittings. Accordingly, the Respondent himself approached the District Court at Muzaffarpur, and not a Court in Kolkata for interim protection under Section 9 of the A&C Act. The Respondent having himself invoked the jurisdiction of the District Court at Muzaffarpur, is estopped from contending that the parties had agreed to confer exclusive jurisdiction to the Calcutta High Court to the exclusion of other Courts. Neither of the parties to the agreement construed the arbitration clause to designate Kolkata as the seat of arbitration. We are constrained to hold that Calcutta High Court inherently lacks jurisdiction to entertain the application of the Respondent under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration Act. The High Court should have decided the objection raised by the Appellant, to the jurisdiction of the Calcutta High Court, to entertain the application under Section 11(6) of A&C Act, before appointing an Arbitrator.

Decision (1 = appeal accepted, 0 = rejected): 1

Explanation:
1[ds]19. In Kiran Singh and Ors. v. Chaman Paswan and Ors. (1955) SCR 117 : AIR 1954 SC 340 , a four Judge Bench of this Court held that it is a fundamental principle, well-established, that a decree passed by a Court without jurisdiction is a nullity, and that its invalidity could be set up whenever and wherever it is sought to be enforced or relied upon, even at the stage of execution and even in collateral proceedings. A defect of jurisdiction, whether it is pecuniary or territorial, or whether it is in respect of the subject matter of the action, strikes at the very authority of the Court to pass any decree, and such a defect cannot be cured even by consent of the parties.The answer to the question has to be in the negative for the reason that the Development Agreement was admittedly executed and registered outside the jurisdiction of the High Court of Calcutta, the agreement pertains to development of property located in Muzaffarpur outside jurisdiction of the Calcutta High Court. The Appellant has its registered office in Patna outside the jurisdiction of Calcutta High Court. The Appellant has no establishment and does not carry on any business within the jurisdiction of the Calcutta High Court. As admitted by the Respondent, no part of the cause of action had arisen within the jurisdiction of Calcutta High Court.25. In the present case, no suit could have been filed in any Court over which the Calcutta High Court exercises jurisdiction, since as stated above, the suit admittedly pertains to immovable property situated at Muzaffarpur in Bihar, outside the territorial jurisdiction of the Calcutta High Court and admittedly, no part of the cause of action had arisen within the territorial jurisdiction of the Calcutta High Court. The Appellant who would be in the position of Defendant in a suit, neither resides nor carries on any business within the jurisdiction of the Calcutta High Court.31. There could be no doubt, as argued by Mr. Sinha, that Section 42 of the A&C Act is mandatory. The Section has obviously been enacted to prevent the parties from being dragged into proceedings in different Courts, when more than one Court has jurisdiction. Where with respect to any arbitration agreement, any application under Part I of the A&C Act has been made in a Court, that Court alone would have jurisdiction over the arbitral proceedings and all subsequent applications arising out of that agreement, and the arbitral proceedings, would have to be made in that Court and in no other Court, unless, of course, the Court in which the first application had been instituted, inherently lacked jurisdiction to entertain that application. The Section which starts with a non obstante clause, is binding irrespective of any other law for the time being in force, and irrespective of any other provision in Part I of the A&C Act.32. However, Section 42 cannot possibly have any application to an application under Section 11(6), which necessarily has to be made before a High Court, unless the earlier application was also made in a High Court. In the instant case, the earlier application under Section 9 was made in the District Court at Muzaffarpur and not in the High Court of Judicature at Patna. An application under Section 11(6) of the A&C Act for appointment of Arbitrator, could not have been made in the District Court of Muzaffarpur. Therefore, Section 42 is not attracted.33. In the Affidavit in Reply filed in the High Court, the Respondent contended that the parties to the Arbitration Agreement had agreed to submit to the jurisdiction of Calcutta High Court. The Arbitration Agreement entered into by the parties clearly states that the seat and/or the place of the Arbitral Tribunal shall be Kolkata.36. In Indus Mobile Distribution Private Limited (supra), this Court referred to and relied upon the dictum of a Constitution Bench of this Court in Bharat Aluminium Company v. Kaiser Aluminium (2012) 9 SCC 552  and held that once the seat of arbitration had been fixed, that would be in the nature of an exclusive jurisdiction clause, binding the parties to specific Courts which alone could exercise supervisory powers over the arbitration. In Bharat Aluminium Company (supra) what was in issue before the Constitution Bench was the meaning of the expression place of arbitration in the context of Section 2(2) of the A&C Act, which as amended by Act 33 of 2019 is set out hereinbelow:(2) This Part shall apply where the place of arbitration is in India.3[Provided that subject to an agreement to the contrary, the provisions of Sections 9, 27 and 4[clause (b)] of sub-section (1) and sub-section (3) of Section 37 shall also apply to international commercial arbitration, even if the place of arbitration is outside India, and an arbitral award made or to be made in such place is enforceable and recognised under the provisions of Part II of this Act.]37. The question before the Constitution Bench was whether of Part-I of the A&C Act applied to arbitrations, where the place of arbitration was outside India.38. As observed by the Constitution Bench, Section 2(2) of the A&C Act places a threshold limitation on the applicability of Part-I, where the place of arbitration is not in India. The Constitution Bench in effect and substance drew a distinction between venue and place of arbitration, as contemplated in Section 20 and held that only if the agreement of the parties was construed to provide for seat/place of arbitration in India, would Part-I of the 1996 Act be applicable. If the seat/place were outside India, Part-I would not apply, even though the venue of a few sittings may have been in India, or the cause of action may have arisen in India.39. The judgment of this Court in BGS SGS Soma JV (supra) cited by Mr. Sanjay Ghosh, was also rendered in the context of Section 2(2) of the A&C Act and the applicability of Part I of the A&C Act to an international commercial arbitration, where the seat of arbitration was not in India.40. In Hindustan Construction Company Limited (supra), this Court held that once the seat of arbitration is designated, the same operates as an exclusive jurisdiction clause and only Courts within whose jurisdiction the seat was located, would have jurisdiction to the exclusion of all other Courts. In the facts and circumstances of that case this Court found that Courts at New Delhi alone would have jurisdiction for the purpose of challenge to the Award.41. It is well settled that a judgment is a precedent for the issue of law that is raised and decided. The judgment has to be construed in the backdrop of the facts and circumstances in which the judgment has been rendered. Words, phrases and sentences in a judgment, cannot be read out of context. Nor is a judgment to be read and interpreted in the manner of a statute. It is only the law as interpreted by in an earlier judgment, which constitutes a binding precedent, and not everything that the Judges say.42. It can never be an absolute general proposition of law, that where an arbitration agreement says that the place of arbitration is Faridabad/Delhi and proceedings under Part I of the A&C Act are also validly initiated in Faridabad, the Court in Faridabad would, notwithstanding Section 42 of the A&C Act, lose its jurisdiction, just because arbitration is later conducted in Delhi and Award is made in Delhi.43. This Court has perused the Development Agreement. The contention of the Respondent in the Affidavit in Opposition, that the parties to the arbitration agreement had agreed to submit to the jurisdiction of Calcutta High Court, is not correct. The parties to the arbitration agreement only agreed that the sittings of the Arbitral Tribunal would be in Kolkata. Kolkata was the venue for holding the sittings of the Arbitral Tribunal.45. In Mankastu Impex Private Limited v. Airvisual Limited (2020) 5 SCC 399  a three Judge Bench of which one of us (Hon. A.S. Bopanna, J) was a member, held:19. The seat of arbitration is a vital aspect of any arbitration proceedings. Significance of the seat of arbitration is that it determines the applicable law when deciding the arbitration proceedings and arbitration procedure as well as judicial review over the arbitration award. The situs is not just about where an institution is based or where the hearings will be held. But it is all about which court would have the supervisory power over the arbitration proceedings. In Enercon (India) Ltd. v. Enercon GmbH [Enercon (India) Ltd. v. Enercon GmbH, (2014) 5 SCC 1  : (2014) 3 SCC (Civ) 59] , the Supreme Court held that : (SCC pp. 43 & 46, paras 97 & 107)[T]he location of the seat will determine the courts that will have exclusive jurisdiction to oversee the arbitration proceedings. It was further held that the seat normally carries with it the choice of that countrys arbitration/curial law.20. It is well settled that seat of arbitration and venue of arbitration cannot be used interchangeably. It has also been established that mere expression place of arbitration cannot be the basis to determine the intention of the parties that they have intended that place as the seat of arbitration. The intention of the parties as to the seat should be determined from other clauses in the agreement and the conduct of the parties.46. In this case, the Development Agreement provided that the sittings of the Arbitral Tribunal would be conducted in Kolkata. As observed above, the parties never agreed to submit to the jurisdiction of Calcutta High Court in respect of disputes, nor did the parties agree upon Kolkata as the seat of arbitration. Kolkata was only the venue for sittings of the Arbitral Tribunal.47. It is well settled that, when two or more Courts have jurisdiction to adjudicate disputes arising out of an arbitration agreement, the parties might, by agreement, decide to refer all disputes to any one Court to the exclusion of all other Courts, which might otherwise have had jurisdiction to decide the disputes. The parties cannot, however, by consent, confer jurisdiction on a Court which inherently lacked jurisdiction, as argued by Mr. Sinha.48. In this case, the parties, as observed above did not agree to refer their disputes to the jurisdiction of the Courts in Kolkata. It was not the intention of the parties that Kolkata should be the seat of arbitration. Kolkata was only intended to be the venue for arbitration sittings. Accordingly, the Respondent himself approached the District Court at Muzaffarpur, and not a Court in Kolkata for interim protection under Section 9 of the A&C Act. The Respondent having himself invoked the jurisdiction of the District Court at Muzaffarpur, is estopped from contending that the parties had agreed to confer exclusive jurisdiction to the Calcutta High Court to the exclusion of other Courts. Neither of the parties to the agreement construed the arbitration clause to designate Kolkata as the seat of arbitration. We are constrained to hold that Calcutta High Court inherently lacks jurisdiction to entertain the application of the Respondent under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration Act. The High Court should have decided the objection raised by the Appellant, to the jurisdiction of the Calcutta High Court, to entertain the application under Section 11(6) of A&C Act, before appointing an Arbitrator.