https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=279232 An application under Section 8 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 must be filed before the party submits its first statement on the substance of the dispute. The Madras High Court noted that a first statement is not confined to a written statement and may be found in any pleading or defence that clearly addresses the merits. On the facts, the counter filed in the injunction proceedings contained a substantive defence to the suit claim, so the party had already submitted to the civil court's jurisdiction before seeking arbitration. The Section 8 application was therefore not maintainable, and refusal to refer the suit to arbitration was upheld. en-us Mon, 23 Jul 2001 00:00:00 +0530 Fri, 08 Mar 2019 13:25:38 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=279232 An application under Section 8 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 must be filed before the party submits its first statement on the substance of the dispute. The Madras High Court noted that a first statement is not confined to a written statement and may be found in any pleading or defence that clearly addresses the merits. On the facts, the counter filed in the injunction proceedings contained a substantive defence to the suit claim, so the party had already submitted to the civil court's jurisdiction before seeking arbitration. The Section 8 application was therefore not maintainable, and refusal to refer the suit to arbitration was upheld. Case-Laws Indian Laws Mon, 23 Jul 2001 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=279232