Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996–Secs. 34 & 21–Stamp Act, 1899–Sec. 35–Arbitration award–Set aside with the observation that the agreement to sell was insufficiently stamped and no notice in compliace of Sec. 21 was issued–Justification–Arbitrator had rejected the objection that the agreement to sell was not sufficiently stamped though the appellants had filed the application for impounding the document–If the admissibility of document is reversed in the proceedings against the award, the opportunity to cure the defect had to be provided by the forum which for the first time, formed the opinion that the agreement was unstamped or insufficiently stamped–Impugned order passed u/s. 37 can not be sustained on this ground–Further held, when the issue of admissibility of the document had gone to the root of the jurisdiction for initiating the arbitration proceedings, there was no occasion to decide the other issue i.e. issue u/s. 21–Matter deserves to be remitted back to to decide the objection u/s. 34 afresh after complying with the provisions of the Act of 1899.
