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Mulund Raviraj Co-Operative Housing ... vs Rupji Constructions And Anr And Kalpana ...
2026 Latest Caselaw 4364 Bom

Citation : 2026 Latest Caselaw 4364 Bom
Judgement Date : 29 April, 2026

[Cites 10, Cited by 0]

Bombay High Court

Mulund Raviraj Co-Operative Housing ... vs Rupji Constructions And Anr And Kalpana ... on 29 April, 2026

2026:BHC-OS:11063


                                                                         CARBP.559.2017,doc.doc


                                IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
                                    ORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION
                              COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION PETITION NO.559 OF 2017
                                                   WITH
                                      CHAMBER SUMMONS NO.217 OF 2018
                                                     IN
                              COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION PETITION NO.559 OF 2017
                                                   WITH
                                      NOTICE OF MOTION NO.688 OF 2018
                                                     IN
                              COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION PETITION NO.559 OF 2017
                                                   WITH
                                      CHAMBER SUMMONS NO.763 OF 2019
                                                     IN
                              COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION PETITION NO.559 OF 2017
                                                   WITH
                                      CHAMBER SUMMONS NO.234 OF 2019
                                                     IN
                              COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION PETITION NO.559 OF 2017
                                                   WITH
                                      CHAMBER SUMMONS NO.45 OF 2019
                                                     IN
                              COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION PETITION NO.559 OF 2017
                                                   WITH
                                       NOTICE OF MOTION NO.350 OF 2019
                                                     IN
                              COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION PETITION NO.559 OF 2017
                                                   WITH
                                      CHAMBER SUMMONS NO.32 OF 2020
                                                     IN
                              COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION PETITION NO.559 OF 2017
                                                   WITH
                                     CHAMBER SUMMONS NO.1080 OF 2019
                                                     IN
                              COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION PETITION NO.559 OF 2017
                                                   WITH
                                      CHAMBER SUMMONS NO.40 OF 2020
                                                          Page 1 of 42
                                                      APRIL 29, 2026
         Aarti Palkar



           Digitally signed
           by AARTI
 AARTI   GAJANAN
         PALKAR
 GAJANAN Date:
 PALKAR 2026.04.29
           17:30:45
           +0530
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                                   IN
               COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION PETITION NO.559 OF 2017

                                   WITH
                  INTERIM APPLICATION (L) NO.10227 OF 2026
                                    IN
               COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION PETITION NO.559 OF 2017
                                   WITH
                  INTERIM APPLICATION (L) NO.24824 OF 2024
                                    IN
               COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION PETITION NO.559 OF 2017
                                   WITH
                   INTERIM APPLICATION (L) NO.3390 OF 2022
                                    IN
               COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION PETITION NO.559 OF 2017
                                   WITH
                    INTERIM APPLICATION (L) NO.50 OF 2024
                                    IN
               COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION PETITION NO.559 OF 2017
                                   WITH
                   INTERIM APPLICATION (L) NO.8065 OF 2025
                                    IN
               COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION PETITION NO.559 OF 2017
                                   WITH
                  INTERIM APPLICATION (L) NO.32205 OF 2024
                                    IN
               COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION PETITION NO.559 OF 2017
                                   WITH
                   INTERIM APPLICATION (L) NO.2136 OF 2024
                                    IN
               COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION PETITION NO.559 OF 2017
                                   WITH
                  INTERIM APPLICATION (L) NO.37939 OF 2024
                                    IN
               COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION PETITION NO.559 OF 2017
                                   WITH
                     INTERIM APPLICATION NO.410 OF 2021
                                           Page 2 of 42
                                       APRIL 29, 2026
Aarti Palkar




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                                     IN
               COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION PETITION NO.559 OF 2017
                                   WITH
                  INTERIM APPLICATION (L) NO.10632 OF 2026
                                     IN
               COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION PETITION NO.559 OF 2017
                                   WITH
                  INTERIM APPLICATION (L) NO.32962 OF 2024
                                     IN
               COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION PETITION NO.559 OF 2017
                                   WITH
                  INTERIM APPLICATION (L) NO.23486 OF 2022
                                     IN
               COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION PETITION NO.559 OF 2017
                                   WITH
                  INTERIM APPLICATION (L) NO.19656 OF 2024
                                     IN
               COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION PETITION NO.559 OF 2017
                                   WITH
                     INTERIM APPLICATION NO.2365 OF 2024
                                     IN
               COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION PETITION NO.559 OF 2017
                                   WITH
                     INTERIM APPLICATION NO.1912 OF 2024
                                     IN
               COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION PETITION NO.559 OF 2017
                                   WITH
                   INTERIM APPLICATION (L) NO.1929 OF 2024
                                     IN
               COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION PETITION NO.559 OF 2017
                                   WITH
                   INTERIM APPLICATION (L) NO.1938 OF 2024
                                     IN
               COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION PETITION NO.559 OF 2017
                                   WITH
                   INTERIM APPLICATION (L) NO.11413 OF 2026
                                     IN
                                           Page 3 of 42
                                       APRIL 29, 2026
Aarti Palkar




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               COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION PETITION NO.559 OF 2017
                                   WITH
                   INTERIM APPLICATION (L) NO.7108 OF 2025
                                     IN
               COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION PETITION NO.559 OF 2017
                                   WITH
                  INTERIM APPLICATION (L) NO.12903 OF 2021
                                     IN
               COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION PETITION NO.559 OF 2017
                                   WITH
                  INTERIM APPLICATION (L) NO.10988 OF 2026
                                     IN
               COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION PETITION NO.559 OF 2017
                                   WITH
                     INTERIM APPLICATION NO.8210 OF 2025
                                     IN
               COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION PETITION NO.559 OF 2017

Mulund Raviraj Co-Operative Housing Society Ltd.                  ....Petitioner
          Versus
Rupji Constructions & Anr.                                          ....Respondents


    Mr. Tushar Dahibawkar a/w. Vikhil Dhoka and Abhijit Mukherjee,
    Advocate for Petitioner in CARP/559/2017.
    Mr. Shadab Jan a/w. Sujit Lahoti, Tejasvi Nakashe, & Nidhi M. Jain
    i/b. Sujit Lahoti & Associates, for Applicant in IAL/11413/2026 and
    Respondent in CARBP/559/2017.
    Mr. Dormaan J. Dalal a/w. Ms Shirley Mody, for Applicant in
    CHSCD/40/2020.
    Ms. Ankita Singhania i/b. Akshay K., Advocate for Applicant in
    IA/1912/2024.
    Mr. Shivprasad D. Borade a/w. Sayli Apte, for Respondent No.2.
    Ms. Sunita S. Warang a/w. Dinesh Sanap & Mandar Nalawade, for
    Intervener.

                                           Page 4 of 42
                                       APRIL 29, 2026
Aarti Palkar




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                                                            CARBP.559.2017,doc.doc


                        CORAM:                   SOMASEKHAR SUNDARESAN, J.

                        DATE:                    APRIL 29, 2026

JUDGEMENT:

Context and Factual Background:

1. This judgement will dispose of Commercial Arbitration Petition No. 559

of 2017 ("Section 9 Petition"), filed under Section 9 of the Arbitration and

Conciliation Act, 1996 ("the Act") and no less than 31 Interim Applications

filed in it.

2. The Section 9 Petition was originally filed in connection with disputes

and differences between the Petitioner, Mulund Raviraj Co-operative Housing

Society Ltd. ("Society") and Respondent No.1, M/s Rupji Constructions

("Developer"), a partnership firm, with the partners being the other

Respondents, Late Mr. Madhukar Rupji ("Madhukar") and his son, Mr. Tejal

Rupji ("Tejal").

3. The Society and the Developer were parties to a Development

Agreement dated May 2, 2013 ("DA"), which is the contract containing the

arbitration agreement, giving rise to the jurisdiction under Section 9 and

Section 17 and thereby, Section 37 of the Act. Madhukar and Tejal have been

in jail for prolonged periods and Madhukar passed away in 2022, while his

son, Tejal continues as a partner of the Developer.

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CARBP.559.2017,doc.doc

4. The Section 9 Petition had been filed way back on October 6, 2017 by the

Society, seeking various reliefs against the Developer, including injunction

against creation of third party rights; injunction against claiming of any

benefits under the DA; injunction against the Municipal Authorities from

sanctioning any plan; directions to the Developer to pay statutory dues

pursuant to the DA; certain disclosures of assets; and deposit of a sum of Rs.7

Crores.

5. Various orders came to be passed in the Section 9 Petition from time to

time, including disclosure of assets and injunctions that were directed by

Order dated December 14, 2017 ( "December 2017 Order") and deposit of

various sums with the Prothonotary and Senior Master of this Court.

Proceedings under Section 9 Petition continued for a prolonged period of time

until an Arbitral Tribunal was appointed on September 2, 2024, when a

Learned Single Judge of this Court disposed of Commercial Arbitration

Application (L) No.6622 of 2022, appointing a sole arbitrator under Section 11

of the Act ("Section 11 Application").

6. Among others, the directions issued under the Section 9 Petition

included attaching houses, cars, wrist watches and such other assets of

Madhukar and Tejal, and their sale and deposit of proceeds with the Court.

Multiple interim applications too came to be filed by persons who are not

parties to the arbitration agreement, either as a signatory or as a non-

APRIL 29, 2026 Aarti Palkar

CARBP.559.2017,doc.doc

signatory veritable party. These will be dealt with subsequently in this

judgement. In all, a sum of over Rs. ~11 crores is said to be lying in deposit

with the Court in the Section 9 proceedings.

7. A Statement of Claim ("SOC") dated January 17, 2025 was filed. The

reliefs sought in the SOC and indeed in a Section 17 Application dated August

23, 2025 contained prayers similar, if not identical, to the prayers sought in

the Section 9 Petition. The Section 17 Application was heard and reserved for

orders on September 30, 2025. An order under Section 17 of the Act has since

been passed by the Learned Arbitral Tribunal on February 4, 2026 ( "Section 17

Order"). Commercial Arbitration Petition No. (L) 11290 of 2026 ( "Section 37

Petition") is a Petition under Section 37 of the Act, challenging the Section 17

Order and has been listed for consideration at a subsequent date.

8. Initially, this entire set of proceedings was considered by me last year

after judgement on the Section 17 Application had been reserved by the

Learned Arbitral Tribunal. The Section 17 Order has now been passed. The

Section 37 Petition challenging the Section 17 Order too has been filed.

Therefore, it is felt appropriate to release orders in the Section 9 Petition by

way of this judgement, taking judicial notice of what has transpired in the

Section 17 proceedings.

9. A brief description of the various proceedings that have all been filed

under the Section 9 Petition would be in order. Respondent no. 2 in the

APRIL 29, 2026 Aarti Palkar

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Section 9 Petition is the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai

("MCGM"), against which certain directions have been sought. The Society

filed Notice of Motion No.350 of 2019 ( "IA 350") on November 30, 2018,

seeking directions for sale of a plot at Mahul, Mumbai ( "Mahul Property")

owned by the Developer and to appoint a Court Commissioner for the purpose

and to add the proceeds of such sale to the deposit to be made in Court in aid

of the arbitration proceedings under the arbitration agreement between the

parties. It appears from the record that the Mahul Property was claimed by

Madhukar and Tejal to have been jointly owned along with one Mr. Kamalakar

Rupji, claimed to be Madhukar's uncle, who has passed away and is survived

by one Mr. Chetan, a purported adopted child and successor in interest. A

notice was issued to the said individual to make his interest clear to the Court.

That apart, the Mahul Property is admittedly leased to an entity called Grauer

and Weil for a period of 99 years with effect from April 1, 2016.

10. Interim application No.410 of 2021 ("IA 410") has also been filed by the

Society on January 28, 2021, seeking a direction to the Prothonotary and

Senior Master to release a sum of Rs.~11.51 Lakhs to MCGM towards property

tax. This Application also sought release of a sum of Rs.~3.76 Crores to the

members of the Society in respect of transit rent.

11. While the Section 9 Petition and the interim applications in it have been

pending, with various orders being passed from time to time, a series of

APRIL 29, 2026 Aarti Palkar

CARBP.559.2017,doc.doc

interim applications have been filed by various parties who have successfully

litigated against the Developer and its partners in respect of other projects

owned and controlled by Madhukar and Tejal, which needless to say, have

nothing to do with the arbitration agreement that creates the Section 9

jurisdiction for the captioned proceedings.

12. Interim Applications filed by decree holders in other proceedings

unrelated to the arbitration agreement contained in the DA, seeking

intervention and impleadment in the Section 9 Petition, and release of various

amounts deposited in Court in their favour in discharge of the decrees held by

them in other forums are:

A] Interim Application No.2365 of 2024 filed on June 22, 2024 ( "IA

2365") - by an allottee in Rupji Akansha, another project of the

Developer in Ghatkopar;

B] Interim Application (L) No.19656 of 2024 filed on May 6, 2024

("IA 19656") -by an allottee in a project called Rupji Dream;

C] Interim Application (L) No.24824 of 2024 filed on August 5, 2024

("IA 24824") - by an allottee in a project called Rupji Arena;

D] Interim Application (L) No 7108 of 2025 filed on March 4, 2025

("IA 7108") - by an applicant who is a decree holder of a money decree

from the Civil Court in relation to another project;

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CARBP.559.2017,doc.doc

E] Interim Application No. 1912 of 2024 ("IA 1912") is an interim

application seeking release of funds from the amounts available with

this Court towards discharge of a decree obtained from the State

Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission respectively;

13. Interim Applications filed by various other third parties, without privity

to the arbitration agreement contained in the DA, who have also filed

proceedings seeking impleadment and intervention in Section 9 Petition, with

some in the same breath also seeking a stay of proceedings in the Section 9

Petition to protect their interests, are:

A] CHSCD/217/2018 filed on February 23, 2018 ( "IA 217") - by a

tenant in a building known as Swastik House;

B] NMCD/688/2018 filed on April 10, 2018 ( "IA 688");

CHSCD/40/2020 filed on March 7, 2018; ("IA 40"); CHSCD/234/2019

("IA 234") filed on July 25, 2018; and IA(L)/37939/2024 ( "IA 37939")

filed on December 13, 2024 - by allottees in another project titled Rupji

Swapnapurti in Mahim-Dadar. Reliefs sought in these include prayer for

modification of a particular order dated January 31, 2018 which directed

the sale of the Mahim property, to include an express clause in the sale

deed as sought in that application and a prayer for refund of a booking

in the Mahim project ;

APRIL 29, 2026 Aarti Palkar

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C] CHSCD/763/2019 ("IA 763") filed on May 2, 2018 - by allottees

in another project titled Rupji Akansha;

D] CHSCD/1080/2019 ("IA 1080") filed on August 26, 2019 - filed by

tenant-allottees in the same building;

E] CHSCD/32/2020 ("IA 32") filed on August 27, 2019 by allottees

in a project called Rupji Akansha;

F] IA(L)/50/2024 ("IA 50") filed on January 1, 2024 - by allottees in a

project called Rupji Koram;

G] IA(L)/32205/2024 ("IA 32205") filed on October 16, 2024 - by an

allottee in a project called Rupji Signature, seeking a refund of Rs. 74.11

lakhs;

H] IA(L)/8065/2025 ("IA 8065") filed on March 11, 2025 - by

allottees in Rupji Vedant, another project in Mulund, seeking

intervention and compliance with an undertaking given in an affidavit

dated October 21, 2024, in which, Tejal had promised that third-party

decree holders would be paid within 12 months from the date of

vacation of the December 2017 Order;

I] Interim Application (L) No.32962 of 2024 ( "IA 32962") - filed by

a purchaser in the sale component of the Society's building, who has

executed a registered agreement dated September 22, 2016 in this

regard; and

APRIL 29, 2026 Aarti Palkar

CARBP.559.2017,doc.doc

J] Interim Application No. 8210 of 2025 ( "IA 8210") filed by one

Kirti Thosar and Prakash Thosar, also seeking intervention and release

of funds

14. Interim Applications have been filed by Tejal's purportedly estranged

wife, Priyanka Tejal Rupji ("Priyanka") and offspring of Tejal and Priyanka,

named Advait and Ishika, also seeking intervention in the Section 9 Petition,

as well as protective orders in respect of ancestral properties and maintenance

amounts directed to be paid by the magistrate's court. Evidently, these

applications have nothing to do with the arbitration agreement but appear to

be reactions to the orders passed in the Section 9 Petition. These are:

A] CHSCD/45/ 2019 ("IA 45") filed by Priyanka and her two

children, who are said to be in possession of a flat after their separation

from Tejal and in respect of which proceedings are said to be pending in

the Family Court; and

B] Interim Application (L) No.23486 of 2022 ( "IA 23486") asking for

release of 1/36th share of amounts deposited in Court, with interest, on

the basis of a family dispute.

15. Other Interim Applications include Interim Application (L) No.12903 of

2021 ("IA 12903") filed by Tejal seeking a direction to pay a sum of Rs.95 lakhs

to MCGM and for release of a sum of Rs.15 lakhs to one Mr. Ganesh Jadhav in

APRIL 29, 2026 Aarti Palkar

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respect of Consent Terms filed in certain execution proceedings before the

Consumer Forum. Evidently, this has nothing to do with the arbitration

agreement contained in the DA.

16. The Developer has filed Interim Application (L) No.1929 of 2024 dated

January 18, 2024 seeking a direction to the Prothonotary and Senior Master to

release Rs.25 lakhs towards legal fees ( "IA 1929"). The Developer has also filed

Interim Application (L) No.2136 of 2024 dated January 19, 2024 ( "IA 2136")

seeking a recall of the December 2017 Order, permit sale of units in other

projects and to enter into joint ventures in other projects with other

Developers since those too stand injuncted in the Section 9 Petition, which

otherwise pertains only to the DA between the Developer and the Society. The

Developer has also filed Interim Application (L) No. 1938 of 2024 ( "IA 1938")

by which reliefs against a termination notice dated March 6, 2017 issued by

the Society has been sought, asking to be permitted to continue and complete

the project under the oversight of a retired High Court Judge to be appointed

as an arbitrator.

Analysis and Findings:

17. I have heard Mr. Shadab Jan, Learned Advocate on behalf of the

Developer; Mr. Vikhil Dhoka, Learned Advocate on behalf of the Society; Ms.

Ankita Singhania and Mr. Dormaan Dalal, Learned Advocates representing

some of the Applicants in the Interim Applications, Mr. Ketan Trivedi,

APRIL 29, 2026 Aarti Palkar

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Learned Court Commissioner appointed on an earlier occasion to monitor the

various orders passed and their implementation. Numerous other advocates

representing the numerous applicants filed in the Section 9 Petition have

either adopted the submissions made by the aforesaid advocates or have put in

their contentions in short notes on submissions, which typically mirror the

contentions made.

18. With the assistance of these advocates and their submissions, both oral

and written, I have examined the record. To ease the burden of the Court, Mr.

Jan submitted a summary table setting out a comprehensive overview of all

the Interim Applications pending in the Section 9 Petition. The other parties

have not controverted the basic factual listing of what these Interim

Applications were filed for. Therefore, this became a useful guide to navigate

the extraordinarily voluminous record involved in these proceedings spread

across 31 Interim Applications.

19. At the threshold, few words on the first principles of the jurisdiction

would be in order. Indeed, the Section 9 jurisdiction is an equitable

jurisdiction. Such jurisdiction is a creature of the self-contained code set out in

the Act and sits at the first preliminary threshold in arbitral proceedings. It is

the very first threshold because this jurisdiction can be invoked even before

invoking the arbitration agreement under Section 21 of the Act. By enabling

parties to an arbitration agreement to approach the Court even before

APRIL 29, 2026 Aarti Palkar

CARBP.559.2017,doc.doc

constituting an Arbitral Tribunal, the sole purpose of the Section 9 jurisdiction

is the preservation and protection of the subject matter of the arbitration

agreement. It would be appropriate to extract the provision:

9. Interim measures, etc. by Court.-

(1) A party may, before or during arbitral proceedings or at any time after the making of the arbitral award but before it is enforced in accordance with Section 36, apply to a Court:-

(i) for the appointment of a guardian for a minor or a person of unsound mind for the purposes of arbitral proceedings; or

(ii) for an interim measure of protection in respect of any of the following matters, namely:-

(a) the preservation, interim custody or sale of any goods which are the subject-matter of the arbitration agreement;

(b) securing the amount in dispute in the arbitration;

(c) the detention, preservation or inspection of any property or thing which is the subject-matter of the dispute in arbitration, or as to which any question may arise therein and authorising for any of the aforesaid purposes any person to enter upon any land or building in the possession of any party, or authorising any samples to be taken or any observation to be made, or experiment to be tried, which may be necessary or expedient for the purpose of obtaining full information or evidence;

(d) interim injunction or the appointment of a receiver;

(e) such other interim measure of protection as may appear to the

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Court to be just and convenient, and the Court shall have the same power for making orders as it has for the purpose of, and in relation to, any proceedings before it.

(2) Where, before the commencement of the arbitral proceedings, a Court passes an order for any interim measure of protection under sub-section (1), the arbitral proceedings shall be commenced within a period of ninety days from the date of such order or within such further time as the Court may determine.

(3) Once the arbitral tribunal has been constituted, the Court shall not entertain an application under sub-section (1), unless the Court finds that circumstances exist which may not render the remedy provided under Section 17 efficacious.

[Emphasis Supplied]

20. A plain reading of the foregoing would show that the Section 9

jurisdiction is meant to empower the Court to preserve and protect the subject

matter of the arbitration agreement to enable the arbitration proceedings to be

meaningful. Access to this jurisdiction is available to a "party", which is

defined as a party to the arbitration agreement. The term "party" is defined in

Section 2(1)(h) of the Act as "a party to an arbitration agreement". Therefore, a

person who may invoke the jurisdiction of the Section 9 Court must

necessarily be a party to the arbitration agreement, under which arbitration

proceedings are envisaged. It is in aid of such arbitration proceedings that

protection under Section 9 is available.

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21. Therefore, the arbitration agreement lies at the core foundation of the

Section 9 jurisdiction. Without an arbitration agreement in existence, the

jurisdiction does not exist. A party to the arbitration agreement may seek

"interim" measures - the final measures falling in the domain of the Arbitral

Tribunal and not the Court. The very concept of arbitration is that of an

alternate dispute resolution forum created by conscious autonomous choice by

the parties to the arbitration agreement. Therefore, privity to the arbitration

agreement, and the objective of preserving the subject matter of the

arbitration agreement lie at the core of the jurisdiction. The arbitration

agreement in this case is contained in the DA and it relates to the

redevelopment of the Society's property. The protectee against Developer in

the Section 9 jurisdiction for purposes of protective measures would

necessarily be the Society. For other parties in the world at large to be

protectees, they would, at the least need to be veritable parties. I have dealt

with this later in this judgement.

22. Another facet of the Section 9 jurisdiction is that when relief is granted,

the Section 9 jurisdiction is meant to have a limited temporal shelf life - the

indicative benchmark is 90 days, and indeed Courts are empowered to

continue the reliefs for longer. Yet, upon an Arbitral Tribunal being

appointed, the Section 9 jurisdiction ought to come to an end, with the

jurisdiction under Section 17 of the Act taking over (which vests in the Arbitral

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Tribunal the same powers as vested in the Section 9 Court). For the Section 9

Court to continue to exercise jurisdiction, it has to come to a view that the

remedy provided under Section 17 is not efficacious. Therefore, the focus of

the jurisdiction is preservation and protection of the subject matter of the

arbitration agreement and that sole focus should inform the exercise of the

Section 9 jurisdiction.

23. This is why the law declared by the Supreme Court (in Ashok Traders1)

goes so far as to indicate that a manifest intent to arbitrate is a necessary

ingredient of the Section 9 jurisdiction, in the absence of which the Section 9

Court may refrain from granting relief or even vacate reliefs, if there are no

real arbitration proceedings in sight. Indeed, when the Section 9 Petition

commenced, it was presumed, and rightly so, that the Society had every

intention to initiate arbitration proceedings in aid of which, reliefs were

sought. It was not until 2024 that the Learned Arbitral Tribunal was

constituted. However, once the Arbitral Tribunal has indeed been constituted,

the Section 17 jurisdiction has to take over.

24. The range and scope of proceedings under Section 9 are always in aid of

arbitral proceedings. The jurisdiction is not a standalone equity jurisdiction

but is an equity jurisdiction within the contours of the arbitration agreement.

The DA could lend itself to enforcement of its terms - specific relief or

Firm Ashok Traders And Anr. vs Gurumukh Das Saluja And Ors. -(2004) 3 SCC 155

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damages, all of which would be the subject matter of evidence to be recorded

in the arbitral proceedings. Now that the Learned Arbitral Tribunal has

indeed been constituted; the Section 17 Application has indeed been filed; the

Section 17 Order has indeed been passed; and even the Section 37 Petition has

now been filed, the disputes and differences that form the subject matter of

the arbitration agreement are well on course and underway in the arbitral

proceedings. As a matter of rule of law, there is no basis left for the Section 9

Petition to be continued.

25. Under the arbitration agreement contained in the DA, proceedings are

well underway. I see no basis to form a view that the Society's interests cannot

be efficaciously considered and protected by the Learned Arbitral Tribunal -

it indeed has played its role and has even passed the Section 17 Order.

Therefore, in my opinion, the only means of letting the rule of law run its

course is to bring to an end the long-standing proceedings under the Section 9

Petition.

Interests Claimed to have been Created:

26. This raises the question of how to adjust for and deal with the various

actions that have been taken in the course of the Section 9 Petition. I have

considered the submissions made by the advocates in the context of the

myriad directions in which various actions taken so far have moved. Mr.

Trivedi, the Learned Court Commissioner is anxious of how to handle and

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settle his activities if the various Interim Applications are held to be not

maintainable, and he has presented a list of questions and issues on which he

seeks instructions. Ms. Singhania, whose clients lay store on the pool of

money and assets accumulated in the Section 9 proceedings, apprehends that

their ability to chase the Developer's assets would be undermined. Mr. Dalal

points to promises held out by Tejal himself that he would settle the decree

holders within 12 months of the December 2017 Order being vacated and

would want the Court to hold him to that promise.

27. Against this backdrop, I have to remind myself that when I sit as the

Section 9 Court, I am a creature of the statute under which the powers of this

jurisdiction are to be exercised. It is an ordinary civil jurisdiction and one that

is created by statute. This jurisdiction is not an extraordinary civil writ

jurisdiction where the writ of the Court could run large over members of

Society who are not parties to the arbitration agreement. As a matter of law,

the law on arbitration has evolved beyond parties to the arbitration with the

law on veritable parties having been declared with progressive movement -

Cox and Kings2, ASF Buildtech3, and Advaya4. Therefore, one must examine at

the least, if the third parties who seek a shoo-in into these proceedings for

Cox and Kings Ltd. v. SAP India (P) Ltd. - (2024) 4 SCC 1

ASF Buildtech Private Limited v. Shapoorji Pallonji and Company Private Limited - 2025 SCC OnLine SC 1016

Adavya Projects Pvt. Ltd. vs. Vishal Structurals Pvt. Ltd. & Ors. - 2025 SCC Online 806

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execution and enforcement of their rights obtained outside the arbitration

agreement, are even remotely veritable parties to the arbitration agreement.

28. For any person to be a veritable party, in terms of the law declared in the

aforesaid judgements, such non-signatory third party must bring to bear

demonstrable proximity to a signatory to the arbitration agreement; either

express or implied consent by the signatories to have an arbitrable

relationship with such a third party; or a de facto connection to the dispute.

This may be discernible by commonality of subject matter of dispute covered

by the arbitration agreement or nature of relationship with a signatory party

where members of the same "group" could be roped in - for example, such

third party is a party controlling, controlled by or a party under common

control of a party to the arbitration agreement. Privity to another transaction

that can be regarded as a composite and integral component of the transaction

covered by the arbitration agreement, is also a feature that can be pressed into

service.

29. It is in this light that one must examine the multifarious Interim

Applications filed in this Section 9 Petition. Applications by decree-holders in

completely distinct and separate disputes that have been adjudicated upon

and have led to firm and conclusive decrees against the Developer and its

partners, are one class of such Interim Applications. These are amenable to

execution proceedings applicable to the respective jurisdictions in which the

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decrees have been obtained. Tejal has specifically affirmed on oath that if the

December 2017 Order is vacated, the payment obligations to the decree

holders would be honoured within a period of 12 months since that would

enable him to dispose of and realise proceeds from such disposal to honour

the decrees.

December 2017 Order:

30. In this context, a quick word on the December 2017 Order would be

necessary. By the December 2017 Order, taking serious note of the default

under the DA and finding that 37 families had shifted to temporary

accommodation relying upon the Developer's promise to redevelop the

property belonging to the Society, allowing their residential premises to be

demolished, and that too with a promise of monthly compensation which too

was defaulted on, the Learned Single Judge was convinced to take stringent

action. Despite the Developer having created third-party rights in respect of

nine free sale category flats and collecting money from such flat purchasers,

the Developer had defaulted in payment of the corpus amount to the Society

and the transportation charges, and also failed to provide a bank guarantee, all

of which were binding commitments made under the DA. While the Developer

promised to make payments after the fourth slab was constructed, he had

proceeded no further than carrying out work up to the plinth level. The

December 2017 Order took note of other projects too, where there has been a

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default. It was noticed that Madhukar and Tejal had been arrested on

allegations of cheating flat purchasers in other projects called Akansha Rupji,

in Ghatkopar and Rupji Memories, in Parel.

31. It was noticed that Tejal had again been arrested in relation to the very

project covered by the Section 9 Petition, and therefore, the Learned Single

Judge went on to attach various properties belonging to Madhukar and Tejal.

These included three cars, 193 wrist watches, a property in Shivaji Park,

Dadar, and a flat in Hindu Colony, Dadar. The Learned Single Judge directed

Madhukar and Tejal to make a detailed disclosure of all assets standing in

their names and in the names of their immediate family members for past five

years, including details of assets disposed of during such period. Disclosures of

various bank accounts with bank statements, shareholdings in various

companies and partnerships, development and redevelopment projects

undertaken in the preceding ten years and disclosure of income tax returns for

the previous five years were directed. They were also directed to disclose

particulars of all development agreements executed by them in the previous

ten years, the amounts collected by them from flat purchasers in each project

and the status of each project. All of these are indeed measures that the

Section 9 Court can truly consider necessary, and indeed such necessity would

be informed by the objective of preserving the subject matter of the DA and

nothing else.

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32. Paragraph 7(vi) of the December 2017 Order is the primary hurdle

perceived by the Developer, which Mr. Jan submits, now has the effect of

being counterproductive to the preservation of the DA. This paragraph is

extracted below:-

"vi. The Respondent No.1 and its partners are restrained by an order and injunction of this Court from selling, alienating, encumbering, parting with possession and/or creating any third party rights in respect of any of their immovable and movable properties including the shareholding in any Company or in respect of any plots / flats in the development / redevelopment projects undertaken by them. They shall also not withdraw from any bank accounts any amounts except for payment of statutory dues until 21st December, 2017, without seeking prior permission of this Court."

[Emphasis Supplied]

33. It will be seen from the foregoing that the restraint imposed on the

Developer, and its partners was wide and expansive, stalling the monetisation

of any and every development or redevelopment project handled by the

Developer and its partners. While this could have impacted the development

and commercial exploitation of other projects, as Mr. Jan would contend, it

cannot be forgotten that the Developer was already a defaulter in other

projects too.

Directions to the Learned Arbitral Tribunal:

34. However, the question of continued restraint is a matter that now falls

in the domain of the Learned Arbitral Tribunal. It is nearly a decade now since

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the restraint was imposed and it is for the Learned Arbitral Tribunal, which

also now has a clear sense of the scale and size of the Society's claim under the

SOC, to decide on whether to continue or do away with the restraint and

whether it is still relevant for the matter in hand, taking into account only the

interests of the Society and not the world at large.

35. In my opinion, the Section 9 proceedings have now merged into the

Section 17 jurisdiction. In this judgement, I propose to iron out some wrinkles

in the course of making such integration seamless.

36. The Developer shall approach the Learned Arbitral Tribunal to ask for

release of such amounts as are in excess of what is felt necessary by the

Learned Arbitral Tribunal for securing the interests of the Society and to

preserve the subject matter of the arbitration agreement, bearing in mind the

contents of the SOC. Suffice it to say, the amounts lying in Court enure to the

benefit of the Society, considering the jurisdiction in which the amounts have

been brought to Court is Section 9 of the Act.

37. When one examines the SOC through this prism, it appears that the

final reliefs are for the Society to develop its property on its own and to

restrain the Developer permanently from claiming any interest in the Society's

property. The SOC seeks damages which are quantified and claimed is in the

sum of Rs.~18.65 Crores. Indeed, damages cannot be secured in advance,

because it would be subject matter of evidence. Yet, there are crystallised

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obligations owed under the project covered by the DA such as the payment of

property taxes. These are for the Learned Arbitral Tribunal to crystallise and

formulate a protection for. Any amount in excess of what the Learned Arbitral

Tribunal feels necessary to secure the Society, bearing in mind the subject

matter of the arbitration agreement, should not continue to be withheld.

38. The Learned Arbitral Tribunal must examine the security necessary

purely from the perspective of the Society and not continue the review of the

factual matrix from the perspective of other projects, creditors and

counterparties to other contracts with the Developer. Once the Learned

Arbitral Tribunal is convinced of the scale of funds and assets needed to be

secured, solely bearing in mind the interests of the subject matter of the

arbitration agreement, the balance amounts lying in Court shall be released to

the Developer. At this stage, all that this Court needs to observe is that the

Society's Section 17 Application is primarily for payment of certain amounts

owed to MCGM from the amounts lying in Court to enable the Society to

proceed with its own redevelopment, for which it has even received the

Intimation of Disapproval. Therefore, what is the surplus amount for

purposes of the arbitration proceedings is squarely capable of being assessed

by the Learned Arbitral Tribunal in exercise of the Section 17 jurisdiction.

39. The appropriate forum for any reconsideration of the December 2017

Order, needless to emphasise, is the Learned Arbitral Tribunal. The Learned

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Arbitral Tribunal must bear in mind the fact that any restraint imposed or

continuation of restraint already imposed must be commensurate with and

relevant for protection of the subject matter of the arbitration agreement in

the DA, and not be influenced by third party rights and claims that have been

made in the course of multiple third party interim applications in this Court in

the course of conduct of the Section 9 Petition.

40. I am conscious that such a decision by the Learned Arbitral Tribunal

would in any case, take time. However, the Learned Arbitral Tribunal is

requested to examine this facet of the matter as expeditiously as possible, and

preferably within a period of three months from the upload of this judgement

on the Court's website.

Decree-Holder Applicants:

41. In the interregnum, there would be adequate time for the other parties

such as the decree-holders to approach other appropriate forums to secure

their interests and take appropriate orders from the respective execution

courts. It is made clear that the amounts lying in Court now can only be for

the benefit of the Society and none other, since the very foundation of the

jurisdiction involved is Section 9 for which privity to the arbitration agreement

is a foundational requirement.

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42. Considering the history of what has transpired in the matter, the

aforesaid working arrangement would enable such parties too to take

necessary and appropriate action as advised, in appropriate forums that may

indeed have jurisdiction, without having to rely on Section 9 proceedings in

relation to an arbitration agreement with which they have nothing to do with.

Once the Learned Arbitral Tribunal determines how much of the amounts

lying in Court are a surplus from the perspective of what is needed for the

Society's interests, the balance must necessarily yield back to the Developer

and its partners.

43. I am conscious of the timeline of 12 months committed by Tejal in the

affidavit filed in these proceedings and reiterated by Mr. Jan in his

submissions in these proceedings. This would fall in the domain of a

voluntary undertaking and whether such undertaking is complied with or not

would at best fall in the domain of the contempt jurisdiction, if the

undertaking given to this Court is not met. Towards this end, the period of 12

months for honouring the obligations owed to the decree-holders will

commence immediately upon the Learned Arbitral Tribunal pronouncing

upon how much of the amounts lying in Court is necessary to protect the

Society's claims. This would enable computation of limitation from the

perspective of contempt jurisdiction.

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44. The decree-holders shall also have the ability and indeed the liberty to

present the facet of commitment of 12 months made on oath by Tejal, to the

respective execution courts, which may pass such protective orders as the

execution jurisdiction permits. The timeline of three months in the aforesaid

arrangement gives enough time to the decree-holders to secure such orders as

may be permissible and be obtained in accordance with law. It is made clear

that the amounts deposited in this Court under the jurisdiction of Section 9

can only be for the benefit of the Society and any direction to pay any

component from it for anything not related to the Society's development, can

only relate to the amounts declared as surplus by the Learned Arbitral

Tribunal.

45. I am unable to appreciate Ms. Singhania's contention about the Society

not having pursued the constitution of the Learned Arbitral Tribunal

diligently, in a manner that it could lead to any entitlement to third parties,

such as her client to file interim applications to chase the assets deposited in

this Court. The very genesis of this Court having any jurisdiction is under

Section 9 of the Act. The foundational premise of such jurisdiction has already

been discussed above. The Society's delay in having the Arbitral Tribunal

constituted could only erode the very jurisdiction to have an increasing range

of activities in the nature of execution, enforcement and liquidation being

carried out in the Section 9 jurisdiction.

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46. As analysed above, a delay in constitution of the Arbitral Tribunal after

grant of relief under Section 9 could only lead to the vacation of the relief,

ordinarily on expiry of 90 days. The Court has discretion to extend it for a

longer period of time and in this case, it has been done for years. Eventually,

the Learned Arbitral Tribunal came to be constituted in 2024. That having

been done, the law must run its course. Any activity outside the scope of

Section 9, which is the very jurisdiction under which the Court gets to exercise

any power in these proceedings, would in fact become a case of coram non

judice. Now that the Arbitral Tribunal has been formed, the provisions of

Section 9 that make it inappropriate for the Section 9 Court to continue to

exercise jurisdiction must be respected as a matter of rule of law.

47. This is precisely why I have issued the directions set out earlier in this

judgement, enabling Applicants such as these to take up appropriate

proceedings in appropriate jurisdictions available to them in law. The Section

9 jurisdiction is now not available any longer since the proceedings have now

moved into the Section 17 jurisdiction and it is now high time the focus of the

jurisdiction is kept on the subject matter of the DA, which houses the

arbitration agreement.

48. With the aforesaid directions, all the Interim Applications by decree-

holders (namely, (i) IA 2365; (ii) IA 19656; (iii) IA 24824; (iv) IA 7108; and

(iv) IA 1912) are finally disposed of in the aforesaid terms. The request for

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intervention by these parties cannot extend to their participation in the

arbitration proceedings pursuant to the arbitration agreement contained in

the DA. These Applicants may take up appropriate proceedings in appropriate

forums that have jurisdiction to grant the reliefs they seek, as advised.

Other Third-Party Applicants:

49. The next batch of Interim Applications are those filed by other third

parties who do not hold any decrees from other forums. None of these parties

have any privity to the arbitration agreement even as veritable parties. Every

creditor to whom a party to an arbitration agreement in a bilateral contract

owes funds, would not become a veritable party to such arbitration agreement.

The arbitration agreement in the DA is solely between the Developer and the

Society. Now that arbitration is underway, I find it impermissible to hold in

any blanket manner that they have any subject matter commonality with the

DA and the arbitration agreement contained therein.

50. It is made clear that these parties who are flat purchasers, allottees,

tenants and counterparties of the Developer in relation to projects other than

what is covered by DA are complete third parties with no privity to the

arbitration agreement contained in the DA. There is no question of permitting

them to intervene in the Section 9 proceedings or to carry it forward into the

Section 17 proceedings. Each of such parties, including parties who have

executed and registered flat purchase agreements with the Developer in the

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very same project as covered by DA, must have recourse through the avenues

available to them in accordance with law. Since acts of Court can prejudice no

one, and having regard to the traction these parties have had before the

Learned Arbitral Tribunal was constituted, in exercise of inherent powers of

the Court, it is held that the time spent engaged in these proceedings related to

the Section 9 Petition shall be regarded as time spent bona fide in this forum,

for purposes of computation of limitation in respect of their claims.

51. Therefore, the request for intervention in the Section 9 Petition made in

all these other Interim Applications (namely, (i) IA 217; (ii) IA 688; (iii) IA 40;

(iv) IA 234; (v) IA 37939; (vi) IA 763; (vii) IA 1080; (viii) IA 32; (ix) IA 50; (x)

IA 32205; (xi) IA 8065; (xii) IA 32962; and (xiii) IA 8210) stands rejected.

52. Each of these Applicants is free to take up such proceedings as advised

and available to them in law. All these Interim Applications are finally

disposed of in the aforesaid times.

Developer Family's Applications:

53. While Priyanka and the offspring with Tejal are said to be engaged in

Family Court proceedings, Mr. Jan does submit that these could be

withdrawn. I do not intend to comment on these Interim Applications,

including on their veracity on facts. Suffice it to say, as a matter of law,

Priyanka and the offspring have no privity to the arbitration agreement and

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are as much third parties to the same; they are not veritable parties as far as

their request to intervene in the Section 9 Petition and pursue their own

claims within the ambit of the arbitration proceedings is concerned. If they

have any claims to make against Tejal or his assets forming part of the

Developer's assets, it is for them to approach an appropriate forum that indeed

has jurisdiction.

54. The Section 9 jurisdiction rooted in the arbitration agreement between

the Developer and the Society as contained in the DA. is not for family

members of partners of the Developer to tap into. I note that Mr. Jan has

instructions to commit to withdraw these Interim Applications, which sought

to bring in intra-family disputes into the Section 9 proceedings. All these

Interim Applications (namely (i) IA 45; (ii) IA 12903; (iii) IA 23486) are also

finally disposed of as withdrawn, and without permitting them to intervene.

Needless to say, the only comment being made is that the disputes raised in

these Interim Applications seeking to lay hands on the amounts deposited in

Court under the Section 9 Petition would need to meet the same fate as the

other Interim Applications filed by third parties who are unconnected to, and

have no nexus whatsoever with the subject matter of the arbitration

agreement.

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Society's Applications:

55. IA 350, seeking relief for sale of the Mahul Property, and IA 410 seeking

release of funds towards payment of MCGM dues, are the Society's Interim

Applications in the Section 9 Petition. These are subsumed in the Section 17

proceedings. Should any facet remain in this regard, the Society may pursue

the same with the Learned Arbitral Tribunal in accordance with law.

56. Suffice it to say, I find it impossible for the Section 9 Court to enable

leading of evidence and conduct a mini trial about the veracity of ownership

interests over the Mahul Property or conduct an auction for its sale and to

realise proceeds. All questions of fact and law in this regard are left open to the

relevant forums that may have jurisdiction, including the Learned Arbitral

Tribunal and any execution court depending on any ruling by the Learned

Arbitral Tribunal.

57. Therefore, IA 350 and IA 410 too are finally disposed of without any

intervention, leaving them entirely to the Learned Arbitral Tribunal for

consideration. It is clarified for the avoidance of doubt, that events have

overtaken the committee formed for purposes of the sale of the Mahul

Property or the development under the DA. It is common ground that the DA

stands terminated, the Society has gone in for self-development and has even

received the statutory Intimation of Disapproval on September 15, 2025, and

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only payment of property taxes due to MCGM have to be made to enable the

Society to move forward. Indeed, the Section 17 Application primarily seeks

securing amounts payable to MCGM from the amounts lying in Court.

58. Therefore, it is made clear that the committee created in the course of

these proceedings stands disbanded. In any case, it would entirely be open to

the Learned Arbitral Tribunal to deal with these aspects should the need arise

in the course of conduct of the arbitration proceedings.

Developer's Applications:

59. Mr. Jan has submitted that he has instructions to withdraw IA 1929 (for

release of legal fees from the amounts deposited in Court) and IA 2136 (for

recall of the December 2017 Order and to permit sales in other projects).

These are disposed of as withdrawn. As stated above, any variation of the

December 2017 Order falls in the ambit of the Learned Arbitral Tribunal and

the Developer may pursue that relief in that forum.

60. IA 1938, too is infructuous and has been overtaken by events that have

transpired in the arbitration proceedings. In fact, an Arbitral Tribunal has

been appointed and the termination is one of the grounds on which the release

of the amounts deposited in Court is sought, since the claim is now a matter of

assessment of damages.

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61. Therefore, these three Interim Applications are finally disposed of - IA

1929 as withdrawn; IA 2136, with liberty to approach the Learned Arbitral

Tribunal, and IA 1938 as infructuous.

MCGM Application:

62. IA 3390 is filed by MCGM seeking to withdraw amounts deposited in

this Court in the Section 9 proceedings towards dues claimed by MCGM. This

is a rather remarkable development, inasmuch as MCGM was made a party by

the Society only because MCGM would have had the power to auction the

Society's property on the ground that the Developer had not discharged the

dues owed towards property tax. While such joinder would enable MCGM to

present its say as a third party that would be affected by potential interim

measures under Section 9, by no stretch can it be contended that MCGM may

also start filing its own Interim Applications in the Section 9 Petition asking

for a positive prayer to have amounts deposited in aid of arbitration

proceedings being released by it.

63. Any recoveries that MCGM seeks to make would need to be in

accordance with procedures known to law for a Municipal Authority to recover

its dues. MCGM too having no nexus or connection with the arbitration

agreement, IA 3390, which is misconceived, deserves to meet the same fate

and is dismissed.

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2026 Applications:

64. The relentless proliferation of Interim Applications in the Section 9

Petition has continued this year too, after the hearing was concluded. These

are:

A] Interim Application (L) No. 10227 of 2026 (" IA 10227") is an

application filed by the Developer seeking a full and clear disclosure of

all documents, assets and other material with the Learned Court

Commissioner. In view of the directions issued below, IA 10227 would

stand disposed of;

B] Interim Application (L) No. 11413 of 2026 (" IA 11413") is an

application filed by the Developer, yet again seeking to vacate the

December 2017 Order;

C] Interim Application (L) No. 10988 of 2026 ( "IA 10988") is an

application by 14 Applicants seeking permission to intervene in the

Section 9 Petition and seeking to withdraw funds from the amounts

lying in Court to offset the amounts paid by them for a project in

another property;

D] Interim Application (L) No. 10632 of 2026 (" IA 10632") is an

interim application seeking release of funds from the amounts available

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with this Court towards discharge of a decree obtained from the

National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission;

65. None of the aforesaid applications have been moved after being filed.

In view of my ruling on the Section 9 Petition, all these Applications stand

dismissed. IA 10227 and IA 11413 are inexplicable. The Learned Arbitral

Tribunal having been constituted, any motion of this nature would lie in the

arbitration proceedings. There is nothing to indicate that these applications

cannot be efficaciously handled by the Learned Arbitral Tribunal. These

applications are dismissed.

66. IA 10988 and IA 10632 too are inexplicable. Adding more to the pile of

misconceived applications in the pending proceedings, these applications

must meet the same fate as the other applications filed by third parties without

any nexus or connection to the arbitration agreement. For the very same

reasons, they too are dismissed.

Other Directions:

67. Mr. Trivedi, the Learned Court Commissioner has submitted a list of

issues on which he would need instructions since he has conducted multiple

actions under the oversight of this Court. The Learned Court Commissioner is

in possession of various documents and properties which are stored in the

Court's premises. Therefore, considering my judgement on the way forward, it

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is vital to ensure that the Learned Court Commissioner hands over all

documents, properties and other material in his possession in discharge of the

duties and responsibilities assigned to him in the past in the course of these

proceedings to the Registry of this Court.

68. The Prothonotary and Senior Master shall designate within seven

working days of the upload of this judgement on the Court's website, a senior

and responsible officer to take charge of all documents and materials from Mr.

Trivedi. Such officer shall be the official Court Commissioner currently

working in the Registry. The newly designated Commissioner and Mr. Trivedi

shall prepare a joint handover report and submit the same to the Learned

Arbitral Tribunal, to enable a clear picture being available to the Arbitral

Tribunal about the nature, scale and scope of what is lying in Court.

69. I am conscious that Mr. Trivedi has put in serious efforts and has

discharged the directions received in the matter from time to time. Towards

this end, Mr. Trivedi shall be paid a sum of Rs. 2,50,000 from the amounts

deposited in Court to defray his fees and expenses incurred in the matter,

which shall be paid upon completion of smooth handover as above. The

Learned Court Commissioner's efforts are appreciated. It's now time for the

Learned Arbitral Tribunal to take over the Section 9 proceedings as

proceedings under Section 17 of the Act, bearing in mind the contours of the

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jurisdiction and the privity of who are the parties to the arbitration agreement

under which the Learned Arbitral Tribunal has been constituted.

70. To summarise:

A] All Interim Applications filed by third parties who have no privity

of contract with the DA and thereby none to the arbitration agreement

contained therein are disposed of without permitting their intervention

into the Section 9 Petition;

B] All the Applicants in these Interim Applications have liberty to

take up such proceedings as advised and as available to them in

accordance with law;

C] The Learned Arbitral Tribunal shall assess what precise amounts,

if any, are required to be kept aside from the amounts lying in Court in

aid of, and to preserve and protect the subject matter of the arbitration

agreement contained in the DA. Such assessment shall be completed

preferably within a period of three months from the upload of this

judgement on the Court's website;

D] Any surplus over and above what the Learned Arbitral Tribunal

determines needs to be retained to abide by the outcome of the arbitral

proceedings, as lying in Court shall be released to the Developer,

subject, of course to any directions and orders that may be obtained by

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the third party applicants in the Interim Applications disposed of, from

such other forums as may have jurisdiction in the matter;

E] The Learned Arbitral Tribunal shall also rule on the need, if any,

for restraint imposed on the Developer in the December 2017 Order, to

continue or to be vacated. The Learned Arbitral Tribunal shall be at

liberty to vary such restraint in such manner as appears necessary to it,

in accordance with law and bearing in mind the scope of protection

being linked solely to the subject matter of the arbitration agreement,

which is the instrument under which the Learned Arbitral Tribunal has

jurisdiction;

F] Tejal shall abide by the undertakings given to this Court in his

affidavit and also through instructions to Mr. Jan committing to

discharge the amounts owed to the decree holders within 12 months of

any release as may be ordered by the Learned Arbitral Tribunal; and

G] The Prothonotary and Senior Master of this Court shall designate

within a seven working days of upload of this judgement, an official

Court Commissioner who shall take over and take charge of all the

matters handled by Mr. Trivedi so far and file a joint handover report.

Upon completion of a smooth handover, Mr. Trivedi shall be paid an

amount of Rs. 2,50,000/- towards fees and costs for his work done so

far in the matter from the amounts lying in Court;

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71. With the aforesaid detailed directions, the Section 9 Petition along with

all Interim Applications filed in it, shall stand finally disposed of.

72. All actions required to be taken pursuant to this order shall be taken

upon receipt of a downloaded copy as available on this Court's website.

[SOMASEKHAR SUNDARESAN, J.]

APRIL 29, 2026 Aarti Palkar

 
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