Arbitration reference cannot be defeated by a technical annexure defect when the agreement is already on record.

Section 8 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 was construed to require the arbitration agreement or a duly certified copy with a reference application, but not in a mechanical way. Where the agreement was already part of the court record through the other side's pleadings or documents, failure to annex it again was treated as a technical defect. The reference to arbitration was therefore not defeated on that ground, and the order sending the dispute to arbitration was upheld.

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Issues: Whether an application for reference of the suit to arbitration could be rejected for want of an original arbitration agreement or duly certified copy where a copy of the agreement was already on the record.

Analysis: Section 8 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 requires an application for reference to arbitration to be accompanied by the original arbitration agreement or a duly certified copy. The Court held that this requirement is not to be applied mechanically where the arbitration agreement had already been produced on record by the other side. Since the copy of the agreement was already part of the record, the omission to annex it again with the application was treated as a mere technical objection and not a ground to defeat the reference to arbitration.

Conclusion: The objection based on non-production of the agreement with the application failed, and the order referring the matter to arbitration was upheld.

Final Conclusion: The appeal did not succeed and the reference of the dispute to arbitration stood maintained.

Ratio Decidendi: The requirement under Section 8(2) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 is satisfied where the arbitration agreement or its certified copy is already on the court record, and a reference to arbitration cannot be defeated on a purely technical ground of annexing the document.

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