Poonam Jain & Anr v. Axis E Corp Solution Private Limited & Ors

O R D E R %

25.04.2024 The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above.

¶1This hearing has been done through hybrid mode.

¶2These are a batch of arbitration petitions filed by the Petitioners under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (hereinafter, 'the Act') seeking appointment of a sole arbitrator.

¶3These batch of petitions arise out of a Joint Venture Agreement (hereinafter, 'the Agreement'). By the said Agreement, the Respondent No.1 - Axis E-Corp Solutions Pvt. Ltd. and the Petitioners entered into a Joint Venture Agreement for setting up of an 'e-store' for selling products of various renowned brands. According to the Petitioners, a definite investment of a fixed sum was made in the said store. As per the Petitioners, the Respondent No.1, along with the directors-impleaded as Respondent Nos. 2-4, did not render services in terms of the said Agreement. According to the petitions, the monthly payments were also not made.

¶4In each of the petitions, it is stated that the Petitioners tried to reach the Respondents in regard to the non-payment, however, neither the Respondents, nor any of their representatives could be contacted.

¶5Further, in each of the petitions, the said Agreement consists of an arbitration clause, which provides Delhi as jurisdiction. The Petitioners, in each of the petitions are stated to have sent a sent notice invoking arbitration proceedings in terms of Section 21 of the Act. Further, as per the chart handed over by the Respondents in Court, it is stated that the Respondents have replied to the said notice in all petitions, except in ARB. P. 301/2024. In the reply of the Respondents to the said notice, the breach of the said Agreement has been disputed, and consent has not been given for arbitration. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above.

¶6The facts of each of the petition are encapsulated as provided in the table below: Arbitration Petition No. Name %age Amount Involved Date of Agreement Reply to Notice

ARB. P. 213/2024 Mrs. Poonam Jain 25,00,000

03.12.2021

Yes Mrs. Radha Kaushik

ARB.P. 268/2024 Mrs. Parveen Kumari 25,00,000

15.12.2021

Yes Mrs. Madhu Saini Mrs. Deepika Mrs. Babita ARB.P. 269/2024 Mr. Rajbir Singh 25,00,000

01.10.2021 Yes

ARB.P. 270/2024 Mrs. Charanjeet Kaur 25,00,000

06.04.2022

Yes Mr. Sohan Singh Mr. Chaman Lal Mr. Rajinder Singh

ARB. P. 271/2024 Girish Chandra, 50,00,000

06.06.2022

Yes Meena Bhainsora, Pooja Tamta ARB.P. 272/2024 Mr. Jot Singh Chauhan 50,00,000

10.01.2022 Yes The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above.

ARB.P. 273/2024 Mr. Sanjay Kumar 25,00,000

14.12.2021 Yes

ARB.P. 274/2024 Mrs. Sandhaya Agarwal 50,00,000

13.05.2022

Yes Mr. Vaibhav Agarwal

ARB.P. 275/2024 Mrs. Geeta Gupta 25,00,000

06.06.2022

Yes Mr. Ashvani

ARB.P. 276/2024 Mrs. Mridula Sharma 50,00,000

05.05.2022

Yes Mrs. Kaushal Vats

ARB.P. 277/2024 Mr. Pranshuk Jain 50,00,000

21.12.2021

Yes Mrs. Sucheta Chokra Mrs. Preeti Saini ARB.P. 278/2024 Mr. Prakash Chandra Oli 25,00,000

05.07.2021 Yes ARB.P. 279/2024 Mrs. Kalawati Chand 22,50,000

22.12.2020 Yes

ARB.P. 280/2024 Mr. Harsh Gupta 25,00,000

28.08.2021

Yes Mrs. Saleha Tabastum

ARB.P. 281/2024 Mrs. Reenu Sharma 25,00,000

15.12.2021

Yes ARB.P. 282/2024 Ms. Anjali Rai 25,00,000

11.07.2022 Yes The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above.

ARB.P. 283/2024 Mr. Ajay Agarwal 35,00,000

25.11.2021

Yes Mrs. Manisha Agarwal

ARB. P. 301/2024 Mrs. Rekha Devi 25,00,000

11.07.2022 No ARB. P. 302/2024 Naval kishore Joshi 30,00,000

22.01.2022 Yes

¶7Notice was issued in these matters and Respondents have entered appearance. The arbitration clause in each of the petitions is not in dispute. Accordingly, the Respondents also pray that the matters be referred to mediation.

¶8By way of illustration in ARB.P. 213/2024, arbitration clauses 1 to 3 of the said Agreement read as under:- "1. Any dispute, differences, or disagreements, by whatever name called, that may arise in relation to this Agreement between the parties shall be resolved by mutual discussion between the authorized signatories of the Parties, or by other person as the parties may decide. If the dispute remains unresolved for a period of 14 (fourteen) business days from the date on which the said authorized signatories (or such person) have exchanged communication in this regard parties may refer such dispute to the Arbitrators appointed by the First party/Company.

¶2It has been agreed between the parties that the decision of the Arbitration shall be final and applicable on both the parties.

The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above.

¶3That the language of the Arbitration Proceeding shall be English Only and shall be held at Delhi only."

¶9All the other arbitration petitions in the present batch of matters also contain the same arbitration clause. As per the said clauses, the disputes are to be resolved by mutual discussion and if the same are unresolved, the parties are free to refer the disputes to arbitration.

¶10Heard. Since there is no consensus between the parties, the disputes underlying the present batch of petitions are referred to Justice A.K. Chawla (Retd.) (M: 9910384636) who shall act as the ld. Sole Arbitrator. This reference pertains to all the above 19 petitions that share similar facts.

¶11In view of the fact that the same ld. Sole Arbitrator, who shall be in seisin of disputes in the present batch of matters, for the purpose of fee, the matters shall be treated as one petition for reference for arbitration. The claimed amounts shall be consolidated, and fees shall be paid according to the Fourth Schedule of the 1996 Act, as amended by the DIAC Rules, 2023. The matter is referred to the Delhi International Arbitration Centre (hereinafter, 'DIAC'), and the arbitration shall be conducted under the aegis of the DIAC.

¶12List before the DIAC on 30th July, 2024.

¶13At this juncture, the Respondents submit that they would like to explore amicable resolution of the disputes with each of the Petitioners. For this purpose, the matter is being referred for mediation under the aegis of the Delhi High Court Mediation and Conciliation Centre (hereinafter, 'DHCMC') to enable the parties to arrive at a comprehensive settlement of disputes. If the disputes are not resolved between the parties before the DHCMC, the ld. Sole Arbitrator, appointed above, shall enter reference. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above.

¶14List before the DHCMC for the above purpose on 2nd May, 2024 at

3.00 pm.

¶15If the disputes are resolved, since the bank accounts are frozen by the Economic Offences Wing ('EOW'), the Respondents are permitted to approach the appropriate Court for de-freezing of the accounts for the sole purpose of payment of settled amount(s) with the Petitioners.

¶16Petitions are disposed of. All the applications are also disposed of.

¶17Let a copy of the present order be emailed to Secretary, DIAC on email id-delhiarbitrationcentre@gmail.com.

PRATHIBA M. SINGH, J APRIL 25, 2024 A/DN

The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above.

* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + ARB.P. 213/2024 POONAM JAIN & ANR. ..... Petitioners AXIS E CORP SOLUTION PRIVATE LIMITED & ORS. AR of + ARB.P. 268/2024 PARVEEN KUMARI & ORS. ..... Petitioners AXIS E-CORP SOLUTION PRIVATE LIMITED AR of + ARB.P. 269/2024 RAJBIR SINGH ..... Petitioner The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. AXIS E-CORP SOLUTION PRIVATE LIMITED AR of + ARB.P. 270/2024 CHARANJEET KAUR & ORS. ..... Petitioners AXIS E CORP SOLUTION PRIVATE LIMITED AR of + ARB.P. 271/2024 GIRISH CHANDRA & ORS. ..... Petitioners AXIS E-CORP SOLUTION PRIVATE LIMITED AR of + ARB.P. 272/2024 JOT SINGH CHAUHAN ..... Petitioner The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. AXIS E-CORP SOLUTION PRIVATE LIMITED AR of + ARB.P. 273/2024 SANJAY KUMAR ..... Petitioner AXIS E-CORP SOLUTION PRIVATE LIMITED AR of + ARB.P. 274/2024 SANDHAYA AGARWAL & ANR. ..... Petitioners AXIS E CORP SOLUTION PRIVATE LIMITED AR of The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. + ARB.P. 275/2024 GEETA GUPTA & ANR. ..... Petitioners AXIS E CORP SOLUTION PRIVATE LIMITED AR of + ARB.P. 276/2024 MRIDULA SHARMA & ANR. ..... Petitioners AXIS E-CORP SOLUTION PRIVATE LIMITED & ORS. AR of + ARB.P. 277/2024 PRANSHUK JAIN & ORS. ..... Petitioners AXIS E-CORP SOLUTION PRIVATE LIMITED The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. AR of + ARB.P. 278/2024 PRAKASH CHANDRA OLI ..... Petitioner AXIS E-CORP SOLUTION PRIVATE LIMITED AR of + ARB.P. 279/2024 KALAWATI CHAND ..... Petitioner AXIS E CORP SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. & ORS. ..... Respondents AR of + A RB.P. 280/2024 HARSH GUPTA & ANR. ..... Petitioners The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. AXIS E CORP SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. & ORS. ..... Respondents AR of + ARB.P. 281/2024 RENU SHARMA ..... Petitioner AXIS E CORP SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. & ORS. ..... Respondents AR of + ARB.P. 282/2024 ANJALI RAI ..... Petitioner AXIS E CORP SOLUTION PRIVATE LIMITED AR of + ARB.P. 283/2024 AJAY AGARWAL & ANR. ..... Petitioners The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. AXIS E CORP SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. & ORS. ..... Respondents AR of + ARB.P. 301/2024 REKHA DEVI ..... Petitioner AXIS E CORP SOLUTIONS PRIVATE LIMITED AR of + ARB.P. 302/2024 NAVAL KISHORE JOSHI ..... Petitioner AXIS E CORP SOLUTIONS PRIVATE LIMITED AR of CORAM: JUSTICE PRATHIBA M. SINGH