Legal Case Summary

Case Details
Case ID 20d3ad68-2fbc-4799-998f-bee2f7b9a22d
Body View case body.
Case Number Suit Nos. 576, 577, 578, 579, 208, 580 of 2012 and
Decision Date Dec 19, 2016
Hearing Date Nov 25, 2016
Decision The Sindh High Court dismissed the applications under Section 20 of the Arbitration Act, 1940, for reference to arbitration, stating that the arbitration agreement had expired on 30-06-2012 and could not be enforced as the necessary party, Mst. Kulsoom Bi, was not included in the proceedings. The Court ruled that the plaintiffs had previously invoked provisions of Chapter II of the Arbitration Act which barred them from seeking reference under Chapter III. Furthermore, the Court found no grounds for extending the validity of the arbitration agreement as no undue hardship was established.
Summary In the case involving multiple suits concerning arbitration agreements among family members, the Sindh High Court addressed the enforceability of an arbitration agreement dated 06-12-2011. The plaintiffs sought to have their disputes referred to arbitration but faced opposition based on the expiration of the agreement's validity on 30-06-2012. The court highlighted the importance of including all necessary parties in arbitration proceedings and ruled against extending the agreement's validity, emphasizing that the plaintiffs had already engaged in parallel legal proceedings, which were deemed more effective. This case underscores the complexities of arbitration law, particularly regarding the necessity of proper party inclusion and the implications of expired agreements under the Arbitration Act, 1940.
Court Sindh High Court
Entities Involved Not available
Judges SYED SAEEDUDDIN NASIR, JUSTICE
Lawyers Khawaja Shams-ul-Islam, Abdul Sattar Pirzada, Muhammad Ali Lakhani, Ishrat Zahid Alvi
Petitioners NASIM AHMED VANA AND OTHERS
Respondents SHAMIM AHMED VANA AND OTHERS
Citations 2017 SLD 1615, 2017 PLD 497
Other Citations Jam Khursheed Khan v. The Province of West Pakistan PLD 1973 Lah. 131, Safullah Khan v. Karachi Customs Agents Association 2011 YLR 202, Communication and Works Department v. Pavital/Pivato Joint Venture 2002 CLC 1798, Trading Corporation of Pakistan v. Nidera Handelscompagnic B.V. 3001 UC 474, Qamaruddin Ahmed and Co. v. Din Muhammad 1970 SCMR 402, Abdul Salam v. Muhammad Yaqoob 1999 CLC 1005, Sharbat Khan v. Fazal Rahim 1998 SCMR 867, General (Retd.) Pervez Musharraf through Attorney v. Pakistan through Secretary Interior and others PLD 2014 Sindh 389, Federation of Pakistan through Secretary M/O Interior v. General (R) Pervez Musharraf and others PLD 2016 SC 570, Pakistan International Bulk Terminal Limited through Chief Finance Officer and others v. Maqbool Associates (Pvt) Limited through M.D. and others 2014 CLD 773, West Pakistan Government v. M/S. Pindi-Jhelum Valley Transport Limited Rawalpindi and others PLD 1960 SC (Pak) 88, M/s. Commodities Trading International Corporation v. Trading Corporation of Pakistan Limited and another 1987 CLC 2063, Ganesh Chandra Dey and another v. Kamal Kumar Agarwalla AIR 1971 Calcutta 371, Nelofar Saqib v. Saiban Builders and Developers and others 2011 CLD 341, Mrs. Yasmeen v. M/s. Beach Developers through M.D. and another 2003 YLR 1109, Mujtaba Hussain Siddiqui v. Sultan Ahmed 2005 YLR 2709, M/s. Hafiz Abdul Aziz Cotton Ginning Factory v. Ali Muhammad Abdullah and Co. and another PLD 1966 Kar. 197
Laws Involved Arbitration Act, 1940
Sections 34(4), 3 to 20, 37(4)