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IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA : CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION

TRANSFER PETITION (CIVIL) NO.78 OF 2009


Balaji Coke Industry Pvt. Ltd. Vs.M/s Maa Bhagwati Coke (Guj) Pvt. Ltd.

Dated : 09.09.2009

In the instant case, the parties had knowingly and voluntarily agreed that the contract arising out of the High Seas Sale Agreement would be subject to Kolkata jurisdiction and even if the courts in Gujarat also had jurisdiction to entertain any action arising out of the agreement, it has to be held that the agreement to have the disputes decided in Kolkata by an Arbitrator in Kolkata, West Bengal, was valid and the Respondent- Company had wrongly chosen to file its application under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act before the Bhavnagar Court (Gujarat) in violation of such agreement. The decisions of this Court in A.B.C. Laminart (P) Ltd. (supra) as also Hakam Singh (supra) are very clear on the point.