Applicability of Section 8 of the Arbitration and Conciliation...

Applicability of Section 8 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, in a company law matter involving allegations of oppression and mismanagement u/ss 96, 173, 241, and 244 of the Companies Act, 2013. The appellant failed to produce the original or certified copy of the agreement containing the arbitration clause, instead relying on an "authenticated copy." The tribunal held that an authenticated copy cannot be treated as a certified copy u/s 47 of the Registration Act and Rule 2(9) of the NCLT Rules, which is required to invoke Section 8. Additionally, the court relied on the Supreme Court's decision in Booz Allen & Hamilton Inc. v. SBI Home Finance Ltd., which stated that arbitration proceedings are a private forum and cannot preclude filing a company petition, as it is a judicial proceeding under the Companies Act and IBC. Consequently, the appellant's application u/s 8 was held inadmissible, and the company appeal was dismissed for failing to meet the statutory requirements.