The Supreme Court asked Lalit Modi on Monday to approach the Delhi High Court for seeking early hearing on his plea against an order staying the arbitral proceedings in Singapore over a property dispute of the family.
A division bench of the Delhi High Court on March 5 stayed the arbitral proceedings at Singapore which was set in motion by Modi, who challenged the order in the apex court.
Prior to this, Modi had got a favourable order from a single judge bench of the high court on March 3 which held as not maintainable the pleas of his mother Bina, his sister Charu and brother Samir against the arbitral proceedings at Singapore.
The three are opposed to the arbitral proceedings initiated by UK-based Modi in Singapore.
The apex court's vacation bench, which comprised Justices Ashok Bhushan and Surya Kant, heard the counsel for both sides for a while and asked senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for Modi, to move the high court itself and seek an early hearing on his plea against the stay of the arbitral proceedings at Singapore.
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"These special leave petitions have been filed against an interim order dated March 5... The next date fixed by the Hight Court is March 27," the bench noted in its order.
Singhvi said the dates were fixed to take emergency measures before foreign seated arbitrator and after the suit was dismissed by the single judge bench, a division bench passed the interim order without hearing Modi.
Taking note of the plea seeking urgent hearing of Lalit Modi, the bench said, "We are of the view that High Court having already fixed the matter on March 27, it is open for the petitioner to make a request to the High Court for preponement of the date... It shall be open for the petitioner to make a request on the reopening day for preponement of the date."
The single judge bench had said the high court does not have the jurisdiction to adjudicate the anti-arbitration injunction suits filed by Lalit Modi's mother Bina, his sister Charu and brother Samir and they are open to take such pleas before the arbitral tribunal in Singapore.
Bina, Charu and Samir, in two separate suits, had contended that there was a trust deed between the family members and the KK Modi family trust matters cannot be settled through arbitration in a foreign country as per Indian laws.
They had sought permanent injunction restraining Modi from prosecuting or continuing with the application for emergency measures and any arbitration proceedings against them.
As per the case, the Trust Deed was executed at London by KK Modi as settlor/ managing Trustee and Bina, Lalit, Charu and Samir as Trustees, and in pursuance to oral family settlement recorded between them on the February 10, 2006.
KK Modi died on November 2 last year after which the dispute emerged amongst the trustees.
Lalit contended that after the demise of his father, in view of lack of unanimity amongst the trustees regarding sale of trust assets, a sale of all assets of the trust has been triggered and distribution to beneficiaries has to occur within one year thereof, the court noted.
His mother and the two siblings contended that on a true construction of the trust deed, no such sale has been triggered.
The single judge bench had also said there was no merit in the contention of the counsel for Bina and her two children that the procedure followed by International Chamber of Commerce, Singapore (ICC) was repugnant to Arbitration Act.
The court said the Arbitration Act is governed by the principle of freedom of the parties and Section 19 thereof expressly provides that the parties are free to agree on the procedure to be followed by the Arbitral Tribunal in conducting the proceedings.
The order was challenged by the mother and two siblings of Lalit Modi in larger division bench of the High Court which reversed the single judge bench order and stayed the arbitral proceedings at Singapore.
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