Appellate forum for refusal of arbitration is fixed by the statute governing the order-maker, not original territorial jurisdiction.

An appeal against a Company Law Board order refusing reference to arbitration under section 45 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 lay to the appellate forum fixed by the Companies Act, not to the court of original territorial jurisdiction. Section 50 refers to the court authorised by law to hear appeals from such an order, so the proper forum was the High Court having jurisdiction over the company's registered office. The refusal to refer the dispute to arbitration was also supported by the nature of the company petition under sections 397 and 398 and the absence of a relevant arbitration agreement binding all necessary parties.

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Issues: Whether an appeal against the Company Law Board's refusal to refer the parties to arbitration under section 45 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 lay to the High Court under section 50 of that Act or to the High Court having jurisdiction under section 10(1)(a) read with section 10F of the Companies Act, 1956.

Analysis: Section 50 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 permits an appeal from an order refusing reference to arbitration only to the court authorised by law to hear appeals from such an order. The expression is not the same as the court that would otherwise have original jurisdiction over a suit; it points to the appellate forum provided by the statute governing the authority that passed the order. Since the order was made by the Company Law Board, the appeal had to be filed in the High Court designated as the appellate forum under the Companies Act, namely the High Court within whose jurisdiction the registered office of the company is situate. The Court also held that the nature of the company petition under sections 397 and 398 and the absence of a relevant arbitration agreement between all necessary parties supported the CLB's refusal to refer the matter to arbitration.

Conclusion: The appeal lay to the High Court having jurisdiction under the Companies Act, not to the Delhi High Court merely because the CLB sat there.

Ratio Decidendi: For an appeal under section 50 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, the appellate forum is determined by the statute governing the authority that passed the order, and not by principles applicable to original territorial jurisdiction.

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