Marykutty Joseph vs Tessu Tojo
2026 Latest Caselaw 1605 Ker

Citation : 2026 Latest Caselaw 1605 Ker
Judgement Date : 13 February, 2026

[Cites 4, Cited by 0]

Kerala High Court

Marykutty Joseph vs Tessu Tojo on 13 February, 2026

AR NO. 251 OF 2025               1             2026:KER:13298


              IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM

                              PRESENT

                 THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE S.MANU

   FRIDAY, THE 13TH DAY OF FEBRUARY 2026 / 24TH MAGHA, 1947

                         AR NO. 251 OF 2025

PETITIONER:

          MARYKUTTY JOSEPH
          AGED 59 YEARS
          W/O.JOSEPH MATHEW, KUZHINJALIL HOUSE, KADANAD KARA,
          KADANAD VILLAGE, KURUMANNU PO, MEANACHIL TALUK,
          KOTTAYAM DISTRICT, PIN - 686651


          BY ADV SRI.P.C.HARIDAS


RESPONDENTS:

    1     TESSU TOJO
          AGED 47 YEARS
          W/O.TOJO THOMAS, VARIKKAMAKKIL HOUSE, IRUMAPRA KARA,
          MELUKAVU VILLAGE, KONNIPPADU P.O, MEANACHIL TALUK,
          KOTTAYAM DISTRICT, PIN - 686652

    2     TOJO THOMAS
          AGED 56 YEARS
          S/O.THOMAS, VARIKKAMAKKIL HOUSE, IRUMAPRA KARA,
          MELUKAVU VILLAGE, KONNIPPADU P.O, MEANACHIL TALUK,
          KOTTAYAM DISTRICT, PIN - 686652

          BY ADV SRI.PRAVEEN.H.


     THIS ARBITRATION REQUEST HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON
13.02.2026, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
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                                   ORDER

The petitioner and the 1 st respondent are partners of a firm.

The 2nd respondent is the husband of the 1 st respondent and according

to the petitioner he is managing the affairs of the firm on behalf of the 1 st

respondent. The partnership was reconstituted on 01.04.2025. The copy

of the deed of reconstitution of the partnership is produced as Annexure

A1. Clause 26 of Annexure A1 reads as under:

"26. Any dispute or difference of opinion arising between the partners in relation to the interpretation, implementation, or enforcement of any of the provisions of this Deed, or any other matter connected with the partnership, shall be referred to arbitration in accordance with the provisions of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, as amended from time to time."

2. On 04.06.2025 a deed of retirement/relinquishment was

entered into between the petitioner and the 1 st respondent whereby the

1st respondent retired from the partnership firm. A copy of the deed of

retirement/relinquishment dated 04.06.2025 is produced as Annexure

A2. Petitioner submits that serious disputes have arisen between the

parties regarding the business of the firm. Various facts have been

stated in the memorandum of arbitration request alleging that there was

many actions by the 1st respondent contrary to the understanding

between the parties. Invoking Section 9 of the Arbitration and AR NO. 251 OF 2025 3 2026:KER:13298

Conciliation Act, MA(Arb.)No.1 of 2025 was filed before the Commercial

Court, Pala. The Commercial Court granted an injunction by order dated

17.10.2025. A copy of which has been produced as Annexure A6.

Thereafter Annexure A4 notice was issued by the petitioner invoking the

arbitration clause in the partnership agreement. As there is no

consensus among the parties about nominating an arbitrator, this

arbitration request has been filed.

3. Notice was issued and respondents have entered

appearance trough counsel.

4. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned

counsel for the respondents.

5. It is pointed out by the learned counsel for the respondents

that the 2nd respondent is not a partner in the partnership firm and

therefore the arbitration clause is not binding on the 2 nd respondent. The

learned counsel also submitted that the allegations against the

respondents are denied by them.

6. It is clear from the pleadings and submissions made at the

Bar that serious disputes have been arisen between the parties. I am

satisfied that there is a valid arbitration clause in the partnership deed

and the same has been invoked by issuing a notice as contemplated AR NO. 251 OF 2025 4 2026:KER:13298

under Section 21 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act by the petitioner.

Therefore, the arbitration request is allowed and the following

directions are issued:

1. The Kerala High Court Arbitration Centre is directed to nominate a District Judge (Retd.) from Panel-III, preferably from Kottayam, as the sole Arbitrator to resolve the disputes that have arisen between the petitioner and the respondents under Annexure A1.

2. The learned Arbitrator may entertain all issues between the parties in connection with the said Agreement, including questions of jurisdiction and limitation, if any, raised by the parties. All contentions of the parties are left open and they are at liberty to raise their claims and counterclaims, if any, before the learned Arbitrator, in accordance with law.

3. The Registry shall communicate the substance of this order to the Kerala High Court Arbitration Centre within ten days and the Centre shall inform the learned Arbitrator within a further period of one week and shall obtain duly signed Form 3 as required under Rule 20(4) of the Kerala High Court (Arbitration Centre) Rules, 2025 and forward the same to this Court.

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4. Upon receipt of the Form 3, the Registry shall issue a certified copy of this order with a copy of the Form 3 appended to the Kerala High Court Arbitration Centre. The original of the Disclosure Statement shall be retained by the Kerala High Court Arbitration Centre.

5. The fees of the learned Arbitrator of the Kerala High Court Arbitration Centre shall be governed by Rule 28 of the Kerala High Court (Arbitration Centre) Rules, 2025. The manner in which the fees and costs payable by the parties shall be governed by Rule 27 of the Kerala High Court (Arbitration Centre) Rules, 2025.

6. If the learned Arbitrator needs the assistance of an expert, then he is at liberty to seek such assistance in the course of the arbitration proceedings.

Sd/-

                                                   S.MANU
                                                   JUDGE


MC/16.2
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                APPENDIX OF AR NO. 251 OF 2025

PETITIONER ANNEXURES

Annexure A1          TRUE    COPY   OF    THE    DEED   OF   THE

RECONSTITUTION OF PARTNERSHIP DATED 01-04- 2025 ENTERED INTO BETWEEN PETITIONER, THE 1ST RESPONDENT AND DHANYAMOL Annexure A2 TRUE COPY OF THE DEED OF RETIREMENT/RELINQUISHMENT DATED 04-06-2025 ENTERED INTO BETWEEN PETITIONER, THE 1ST RESPONDENT AND DHANYAMOL Annexure A3 TRUE COPY OF THE CERTIFICATE DATED 06/10/2025 ISSUED BY JACOB AND JACOB, CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS Annexure A4 TRUE LAWYER COPY OF THE NOTICE DATED 15- 09-2025 CAUSED TO BE ISSUED BY THE PETITIONER TO THE RESPONDENTS Annexure A5 TRUE COPY OF ARBITRATION (MA) NO. 1 OF 2025 FILED BY THE PETITIONER BEFORE THE PALA COMMERCIAL COURT/SUB COURT PALA Annexure A6 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER OF INJUNCTION DATED 17/10/2025 GRANTED BY THE COMMERCIAL JUDGE PALA IN I.A. NUMBER 1/2025 IN MA (ARB) NO.

Annexure A7 TRUE COPY OF THE AFFIDAVIT DATED 07-11- 2025 FILED BY THE 1ST RESPONDENT IN I.A. NO. 1/2025 IN MA (ARB) NO. 1/2025 BEFORE THE PALA COMMERCIAL COURT (SUB COURT)