JHARKHAND URJA VIKAS NIGAM LIMITEDversusTHE STATE OF RAJASTHAN & ORS.

                         [2021] 9 S.C.R. 497                            497


         JHARKHAND URJA VIKAS NIGAM LIMITED                             A
                                 v.
              THE STATE OF RAJASTHAN & ORS.
                  (Civil Appeal No. 2899 of 2021)
                       DECEMBER 15, 2021                                B
   [INDIRA BANERJEE AND R. SUBHASH REDDY, JJ.]
       Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006
– s.18(2), (3) – Claim by respondent no.3-supplier against appellant
before the Rajasthan Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation
                                                                        C
Council for payment of bill – Appellant did not appear before the
Council on which Council directed the appellant to make payment
as claimed – Challenge against – Held: Under s.18(3), when
conciliation fails and stands terminated, the Council is empowered
either to take up arbitration on its own or to refer the arbitration
proceedings to any institution as specified in the said Section – The   D
order of Council was a nullity and patently illegal – When
conciliation was not successful, the said proceedings stood
terminated and thereafter the Council ought to have proceeded to
initiate arbitration proceedings – Arbitration and Conciliation Act,
1996.
                                                                        E
      Allowing the appeal, the Court
      HELD : If the appellant had not submitted its reply at the
conciliation stage, and failed to appear, the Facilitation Council
could, at best, have recorded the failure of conciliation and
proceeded to initiate arbitration proceedings in accordance with        F
the relevant provisions of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act,
1996, to adjudicate the dispute and make an award. Proceedings
for conciliation and arbitration cannot be clubbed. In this case
only on the ground that the appellant had not appeared in the
proceedings for conciliation, on the very first date of appearance,
that is, 06.08.2012, an order was passed directing the appellant        G
and/or its predecessor/Jharkhand State Electricity Board to pay
Rs.78,74,041/- towards the principal claim and Rs.91,59,705/- odd
towards interest. The Facilitation Council did not initiate
arbitration proceedings in accordance with the relevant provisions
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                                497
498             SUPREME COURT REPORTS                             [2021] 9 S.C.R.


A     of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The order dated
      06.08.2012 is a nullity and runs contrary not only to the provisions
      of MSMED Act but contrary to various mandatory provisions of
      Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. There is no arbitral award
      in the eye of law. It is true that under the scheme of the Arbitration
      and Conciliation Act, 1996 an arbitral award can only be questioned
B
      by way of application under Section 34 of the Arbitration and
      Conciliation Act, 1996. At the same time when an order is passed
      without recourse to arbitration and in utter disregard to the
      provisions of Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, Section 34
      of the said Act will not apply. [Paras 11, 12, 13][504-C-G]
C            Rajkumar Shivhare v. Asst. Director, Directorate of
             Enforcement & Anr. (2010) 4 SCC 772 : [2010] 4
             SCR 608 – referred to
                                Case Law Reference

D     [2010] 4 SCR 608                    referred to                Para 6
            CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No.2899
      of 2021.
            From the Judgment and Order dated 11.12.2017 of the High Court
      of Judicature for Rajasthan Bench at Jaipur in D. B. Special Appeal
E     Writ No.1854 of 2017.
            Anup Kumar, Saurabh Jain, Ms. Neha Jaiswal, Shivam Kumar,
      Ms. Shruti Singh, Advs. for the Appellant.
            Dr. Manish Singhvi, Kailash Vasdev, Sr. Advs., Milind Kumar,
      Nishit Agrawal, Shrey Kapoor, Harsh Mishra, Ms. Upasna Agrawal,
F
      Advs. for the Respondents.
             The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
             R. SUBHASH REDDY, J.
             1. In this civil appeal, challenge is to the order dismissing the intra-
G     court appeal preferred by the appellant in D.B. Special Appeal Writ
      No.1854 of 2017 passed by the High Court of Judicature at Rajasthan,
      Jaipur Bench, vide judgment and order dated 11.12.2017, confirming the
      order of the learned Single Judge in W.P. No.11657 of 2017. In the writ
      petition, the order dated 06.08.2012 passed by the 2nd respondent, i.e.,
H
 JHARKHAND URJA VIKAS NIGAM LIMITED v. THE STATE                              499
    OF RAJASTHAN & ORS. [R. SUBHASH REDDY, J.]

Rajasthan Micro & Small Industries Facilitation Council, Jaipur (in short,    A
‘Council’) was questioned.
        2. The appellant herein, which is the successor company of
erstwhile Jharkhand State Electricity Board, entered into a contract with
the 3rd respondent - M/s. Anamika Conductors Ltd., Jaipur, for supply of
ACSR Zebra Conductors. Respondent No.3 claiming to be a small scale           B
industry, has approached the Rajasthan Micro and Small Enterprises
Facilitation Council, claiming an amount of Rs.74,74,041/- towards the
principal amount of bills and an amount of Rs.91,59,705.02 paise towards
interest. On the ground that the appellant has not responded to earlier
notices, the Council issued summons dated 18.07.2012 for appearance
of the appellant before the Council on 06.08.2012. Only on the ground         C
that on 06.08.2012 the appellant has not appeared, the order dated
06.08.2012 was passed by the Council directing the appellant to make
the payment to the 3rd respondent, as claimed, within a period of thirty
days from the date of the order.
       3. The said order was under challenge before the High Court by         D
way of writ petition in Civil Writ Petition No.11657 of 2017, and same
was dismissed by the learned Single Judge. An intra-court appeal
preferred by the appellant was also ended in dismissal. Hence, this appeal.
      4. We have heard Sri Anup Kumar, learned Senior Standing
Counsel appearing for the appellant; Dr. Manish Singhvi, learned Senior       E
Counsel appearing for 2nd respondent and Sri Kailash Vasdev, learned
Senior Counsel appearing for the 3rd respondent. Having heard the
counsel for the parties we have perused the impugned order and other
material placed on record.
       5. It is mainly contended by learned counsel for the appellant, as     F
there were some disputes on the supplies made by the 3 rd respondent,
the bill amount due was not paid immediately. It is submitted that only on
the ground that the appellant has not responded in the conciliation
proceedings, straightaway the order was passed by the Council without
giving proper opportunity. The order impugned in the writ petition was        G
passed, in utter disregard to the mandatory provision under Section 18 of
the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 (for
short ‘MSMED Act’) and the provisions of Arbitration and Conciliation
Act, 1996. It is submitted that even after the order passed by the Council
on 06.08.2012, the appellant after inspecting the records, has paid the
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500             SUPREME COURT REPORTS                              [2021] 9 S.C.R.


A     due amount Rs.63,43,488/- to the 3rd respondent. Such amount was paid
      after inspecting the records to the 3rd respondent, who had received that
      amount without any protest. After a period of three years thereafter, 3 rd
      respondent has filed Execution Case No.69 of 2016 before the Civil
      Judge, Ranchi which ultimately ended in dismissal on the ground of
      maintainability. When the said order was challenged by way of writ
B
      petition, said writ petition was subsequently dismissed as withdrawn. It
      is submitted that when the conciliation fails, as per Section 18(3) of the
      MSMED Act, Council has to initiate arbitration proceedings. On failure
      of conciliation, the Council shall either itself take up the dispute for
      arbitration or refer to any institution or centre providing alternate dispute
C     resolution services for such arbitration and the provisions of Arbitration
      and Conciliation Act, 1996 shall apply to the dispute, as if the arbitration
      was in pursuance of arbitration agreement referred to under sub-section
      (1) of Section 7 of Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. It is submitted
      that in this case without following the procedure, straightaway the order
      impugned in the writ petition was passed without giving any opportunity
D
      to the appellant to participate in the arbitration proceedings. It is submitted,
      as the said order was passed in utter disregard to the mandatory
      provisions of Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 the said order is a
      nullity and cannot be termed as an award under provisions of Arbitration
      and Conciliation Act, 1996. It is further submitted that as per the terms
E     of the contract any dispute was subject to jurisdiction of civil courts at
      Ranchi and the 3 rd respondent having agreed to such terms, had
      approached the Council in the State of Rajasthan. Thus it is submitted
      that the order passed by the Council is without jurisdiction and contrary
      to terms and conditions of the agreement.
F            6. Dr. Manish Singhvi, learned senior counsel appearing for the
      2nd respondent, i.e., Rajasthan Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation
      Council has submitted that there are no grounds to interfere with the
      impugned order passed by the High Court. It is submitted that against
      the award passed by the Council on 06.08.2012, it was open to appellant
      to challenge the same before the competent forum under Section 34(3)
G     of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, within the specified time. It is
      submitted that having failed to question the award before the competent
      forum, the appellant has made a belated attempt by questioning the order
      of the Council by way of writ petition, which was rightly dismissed by
      the learned Single Judge and confirmed by the Division Bench of the
H     High Court. It is submitted that as the appellant has not responded to the
    JHARKHAND URJA VIKAS NIGAM LIMITED v. THE STATE                            501
       OF RAJASTHAN & ORS. [R. SUBHASH REDDY, J.]

various notices/summons issued by the Council, the Council itself has          A
taken up the dispute and passed the award.
        Sri Kailash Vasdev, learned senior counsel appearing for the
respondent no.3 has submitted that though the supplies were made as
per the terms of the contract, the appellant has delayed the payment
which necessitated the 3rd respondent to approach the Council. Though          B
several notices were issued by the Council, appellant has not responded
to the same and lastly by issuing summons on 18.07.2012 the Council
has passed the award on 06.08.2012 by recording a finding that appellant
is guilty of delay in paying the amounts due to the 3rd respondent. It is
submitted that even after the award, a notice was issued to the appellant,
instead to comply the award only an amount of Rs.63,43,488/- was paid.         C
Thereafter as the awarded amount was not paid, the 3rd respondent has
filed execution case before the civil court at Ranchi, same was questioned
by the appellant by way of writ petition which was subsequently dismissed
as withdrawn. It is submitted that Civil Judge at Ranchi has dismissed
the execution case on the ground that it was not maintainable due to lack      D
of territorial jurisdiction, since award was passed on 06.08.2012 at Jaipur.
It is submitted that after a gap of nearly 9 months C.W.P. No.6885 of
2016 was filed by the appellant. It is submitted that the MSMED Act is
a beneficial legislation to the small and medium enterprises. Though proper
opportunity was given, the appellant has not responded to the same before
the Council and there are no grounds to interfere with the impugned            E
order passed by the High Court. It is submitted that when the award is
passed by the Council it is open to challenge under Section 34 of the
Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 within the specified period and
having failed to question the award belated attempt is made by filing writ
petition before the High Court. Learned senior counsel placed reliance         F
on a judgment of this Court in the case of Rajkumar Shivhare v. Asst.
Director, Directorate of Enforcement & Anr.1 in support of his
submissions and further submitted that appellant has partly complied the
award by paying an amount of Rs.63,43,488/-, as such it is not open to
challenge the same at this point of time.
                                                                               G
       7. In the writ petition the appellant has challenged the order/award
dated 06.08.2012 passed by the 2nd respondent-Council constituted under
provisions of MSMED Act. The 3rd respondent has approached the
Council seeking directions against the appellant for payment of delayed
1
    (2010) 4 SCC 772
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502             SUPREME COURT REPORTS                           [2021] 9 S.C.R.


A     bill amount along with interest under provisions of MSMED Act.
      Immediately after filing application by initiating conciliation proceedings,
      Council has issued notices and as the appellant has not appeared summons
      were issued to the appellant on 18.07.2012 for appearance on 06.08.2012.
      The relevant portion of the summons dated 18.07.2012 issued by the
      Council reads as under :
B
            “Now, therefore, notice is hereby given to you to appear in person
            or through authorized representative before the Council on 6th
            August, 2012 at 3.30 P.M. or on such day as may be fixed by
            the Council to submit in support of the claim/dispute and you are
            directed to produce on that day all the documents upon which you
C           intend to rely in support of your defense.
            Take note that in default of your response within the period
            mentioned above, the dispute shall stand terminated. Otherwise
            the dispute shall be heard and reconciled with a view to the
            settlement of dispute and in case settlement is not arrived at, the
D           Council shall either itself act as an arbitrator for final settlement
            of dispute or refer it to an institute for such settlement as per
            provisions of the Act.”
             8. Only on the ground that even after receipt of summons the
      appellant has not appeared the Council has passed order/award on
E     06.08.2012. As per Section 18(3) of the MSMED Act, if conciliation is
      not successful, the said proceedings stand terminated and thereafter
      Council is empowered to take up the dispute for arbitration on its own or
      refer to any other institution. The said Section itself makes it clear that
      when the arbitration is initiated all the provisions of the Arbitration and
F     Conciliation Act, 1996 will apply, as if arbitration was in pursuance of an
      arbitration agreement referred under sub-section (1) of Section 7 of the
      said Act.
            Section 18 of the MSMED Act reads as under :
            “18. Reference to Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation
G           Council.-
            (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the
            time being in force, any party to a dispute may, with regard to any
            amount due under section 17, make a reference to the Micro and
            Small Enterprises Facilitation Council.
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 JHARKHAND URJA VIKAS NIGAM LIMITED v. THE STATE                                 503
    OF RAJASTHAN & ORS. [R. SUBHASH REDDY, J.]

      (2) On receipt of a reference under sub-section (1), the Council           A
      shall either itself conduct conciliation in the matter or seek the
      assistance of any institution or centre providing alternate dispute
      resolution services by making a reference to such an institution or
      centre, for conducting conciliation and the provisions of sections
      65 to 81 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (26 of 1996)
                                                                                 B
      shall apply to such a dispute as if the conciliation was initiated
      under Part III of that Act.
      (3) Where the conciliation initiated under sub-section (2) is not
      successful and stands terminated without any settlement between
      the parties, the Council shall either itself take up the dispute for
      arbitration or refer it to any institution or centre providing alternate   C
      dispute resolution services for such arbitration and the provisions
      of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (26 of 1996) shall
      then apply to the dispute as if the arbitration was in pursuance of
      an arbitration agreement referred to in sub-section (1) of section
      7 of that Act.                                                             D
      (4) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the
      time being in force, the Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation
      Council or the centre providing alternate dispute resolution services
      shall have jurisdiction to act as an Arbitrator or Conciliator under
      this section in a dispute between the supplier located within its          E
      jurisdiction and a buyer located anywhere in India.
      (5) Every reference made under this section shall be decided within
      a period of ninety days from the date of making such a reference.”
         9. From a reading of Section 18(2) and 18(3) of the MSMED Act
it is clear that the Council is obliged to conduct conciliation for which the    F
provisions of Sections 65 to 81 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act,
1996 would apply, as if the conciliation was initiated under Part III of the
said Act. Under Section 18(3), when conciliation fails and stands
terminated, the dispute between the parties can be resolved by arbitration.
The Council is empowered either to take up arbitration on its own or to          G
refer the arbitration proceedings to any institution as specified in the said
Section. It is open to the Council to arbitrate and pass an award, after
following the procedure under the relevant provisions of the Arbitration
and Conciliation Act, 1996, particularly Sections 20, 23, 24, 25.

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504             SUPREME COURT REPORTS                            [2021] 9 S.C.R.


A            10. Thereis a fundamental difference between conciliation and
      arbitration. In conciliation the conciliator assists the parties to arrive at
      an amicable settlement, in an impartial and independent manner. In
      arbitration, the Arbitral Tribunal/ arbitrator adjudicates the disputes
      between the parties. The claim has to be proved before the arbitrator, if
      necessary, by adducing evidence, even though the rules of the Civil
B
      Procedure Code or the Indian Evidence Act may not apply. Unless
      otherwise agreed, oral hearings are to be held.
             11. If the appellant had not submitted its reply at the conciliation
      stage, and failed to appear, the Facilitation Council could, at best, have
      recorded the failure of conciliation and proceeded to initiate arbitration
C     proceedings in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Arbitration
      and Conciliation Act, 1996, to adjudicate the dispute and make an award.
      Proceedings for conciliation and arbitration cannot be clubbed.
            12. In this case only on the ground that the appellant had not
      appeared in the proceedings for conciliation, on the very first date of
D     appearance, that is, 06.08.2012, an order was passed directing the
      appellant and/or its predecessor/Jharkhand State Electricity Board to
      pay Rs.78,74,041/- towards the principal claim and Rs.91,59,705/- odd
      towards interest. As it is clear from the records of the impugned
      proceedings that the Facilitation Council did not initiate arbitration
E     proceedings in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Arbitration
      and Conciliation Act, 1996.
             13. The order dated 06.08.2012 is a nullity and runs contrary not
      only to the provisions of MSMED Act but contrary to various mandatory
      provisions of Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The order dated
F     06.08.2012 is patently illegal. There is no arbitral award in the eye of
      law. It is true that under the scheme of the Arbitration and Conciliation
      Act, 1996 an arbitral award can only be questioned by way of application
      under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. At the
      same time when an order is passed without recourse to arbitration and
      in utter disregard to the provisions of Arbitration and Conciliation Act,
G     1996, Section 34 of the said Act will not apply. We cannot reject this
      appeal only on the ground that appellant has not availed the remedy
      under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The
      submission of the learned senior counsel appearing for the 3rd respondent
      that there was delay and laches in filing writ petition also cannot be
H     accepted. After 06.08.2012 order, the appellant after verification of the
 JHARKHAND URJA VIKAS NIGAM LIMITED v. THE STATE                                  505
    OF RAJASTHAN & ORS. [R. SUBHASH REDDY, J.]

records has paid an amount of Rs.64,43,488/- on 22.01.2013 and the                A
said amount was received by the 3rd respondent without any protest.
Three years thereafter it made an attempt to execute the order in
Execution Case No.69 of 2016 before the Civil Judge, Ranchi, which
ultimately ended in dismissal for want of territorial jurisdiction, vide order
dated 31.01.2017. Thereafter S.B.Civil Writ Petition No.11657 of 2017
                                                                                  B
was filed questioning the order dated 06.08.2012 before the Rajasthan
High Court. In that view of the matter it cannot be said that there was
abnormal delay and laches on the part of the appellant in approaching
the High Court. As much as the 3rd respondent has already received an
amount of Rs.63,43,488/- paid by the appellant, without any protest and
demur, it cannot be said that the appellant lost its right to question the        C
order dated 06.08.2012. Though the learned counsel appearing for the
respondents have placed reliance on certain judgments to support their
case, but as the order of 06.08.2012 was passed contrary to Section
18(3) of the MSMED Act and the mandatory provisions of the Arbitration
and Conciliation Act, 1996, we are of the view that such judgments
                                                                                  D
would not render any assistance to support their case.
        14. For the aforesaid reasons, this civil appeal is allowed, the
impugned judgment and order is set aside. Consequently, the order/award
dated 06.08.2012 passed by the 2nd respondent stand quashed. However,
it is open to the 2nd respondent-Council to either take up the dispute for
arbitration on its own or refer the same to any institution or centre             E
providing alternate dispute resolution services, for resolution of dispute
between the parties. It is needless to observe that for such arbitration,
the Council shall follow the provisions of Arbitration and Conciliation
Act, 1996 before passing any award. As we have not gone into merits of
the claim made by 3rd respondent, it is open for the arbitral tribunal, to        F
decide the matter on its own merits.

Devika Gujral                                                   Appeal allowed.


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