Arbitration agreement validity must be conclusively decided at Section 11 stage; tribunal cannot decide existence of consent.

At the Section 11 referral stage, the court must conclusively determine whether a valid arbitration agreement exists, including existence, validity, and privity between the parties, because that issue goes to the root of the referral power. The question cannot be left for the arbitral tribunal to decide, as doing so could compel arbitration without a binding agreement. Non-arbitrability may, in appropriate cases, be examined only prima facie, but the existence and validity of the arbitration agreement require a final threshold determination by the referral court. On that basis, the order referring the disputes to arbitration was set aside and the matter remitted for fresh decision on the arbitration petition.

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Issues: Whether, at the pre-referral stage under Section 11, the referral court must conclusively decide the existence and validity of the arbitration agreement or may leave that question to the arbitral tribunal.

Analysis: Section 11(6A) confines the court to examining the existence of an arbitration agreement. The inquiry at the referral stage includes the existence and validity of the arbitration agreement, including the parties' privity to it, and this inquiry goes to the root of the matter. While non-arbitrability may, in appropriate cases, receive only a prima facie review, the question whether an arbitration agreement exists and is valid cannot be left open for determination by the tribunal. The referral court must decide that issue conclusively at the threshold to prevent parties from being compelled to arbitrate in the absence of a binding arbitration agreement.

Conclusion: The referral court was required to finally determine the existence and validity of the arbitration agreement and erred in leaving that issue to the arbitral tribunal.

Final Conclusion: The order referring the disputes to arbitration was set aside and the matter was sent back for fresh decision on the arbitration-petition issues in accordance with the above principles.

Ratio Decidendi: At the Section 11 stage, the court's jurisdiction is confined to a conclusive determination of whether a valid arbitration agreement exists; only non-arbitrability may, in appropriate cases, be examined prima facie.

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