Interim protection in aid of arbitration preserves possession pending appointment of the arbitrator and further arbitral orders

Where a dispute is referable to arbitration, a civil court may treat a suit or application as one for interim relief under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 and preserve the status quo pending constitution of the arbitral forum. The court granted interim protection against dispossession of the parties in possession until appointment of the arbitrator and for a short period thereafter, leaving them free to approach the arbitrator for further interim orders. The operative effect is that possession can be safeguarded in aid of arbitration even where civil court proceedings are considered non-maintainable because of an arbitration clause.

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Issues: Whether, in the presence of an arbitration clause, the civil court could treat the suit/application as one under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 and grant interim protection pending appointment of an arbitrator.

Analysis: The Court noted that even if the civil court had taken the view that the suit was not maintainable because of the arbitration clause, it could have treated the application as one under Section 9. Since an arbitration application for appointment of an arbitrator had already been filed, the Court granted interim protection preventing dispossession of the appellants from the premises in their possession until appointment of the arbitrator and for three weeks thereafter, leaving the appellants to seek interim orders from the arbitrator.

Conclusion: The appellants were entitled to interim protection, and the matter was disposed of on that basis.

Final Conclusion: The order recognised the availability of interim relief in aid of arbitration and preserved the appellants' possession until the arbitral forum could be approached for further orders.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a dispute is referable to arbitration, a civil court may treat the matter as one for interim relief under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 and preserve the status quo pending constitution of the arbitral forum.

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