The pendency of a SARFAESI proceedings cannot be a bar for invocation of the arbitral clause in the agreement | Both the proceedings can be parallelly taken up – Cholamandalam Investments and Finance Company Ltd. Vs. Ram Nath Agarwal Radhey Lal and Ors. – Madras High Court
Hon’ble Madras High Court held that:
(i) The provisions of the SARFAESI Act are in the nature of an enforcement proceedings while the arbitration is an adjudicatory process.
(ii) The proceedings under the SARFAESI Act also cannot be a bar for invocation of the arbitration clause in the agreement
(iii) The pendency of a SARFAESI proceedings cannot be a bar for invocation of the arbitral clause in the agreement that had been entered between the parties. Both the proceedings can be parallelly taken up by the petitioner.
(iv) The question of accord and satisfaction being mixed question of fact and law comes within the exclusive jurisdiction of the arbitral Tribunal, if not otherwise agreed upon between the parties.