IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
(DISTRICT: MEHSANA)
ARBITRATION PETITION NO._______OF 2025
In the matter under Article 226 of the
Constitution of India;
AND
In the matter under Section 11 of the
Arbitration Act;
AND
In the matter BETWEEN:
Mr. Prajapati Bhadevbhai Gangarambhai
(Proprietor of Shree Ganesh Engineers)
Aged:62, Hindu, Male, Occ: Business;
Residing at;
Brahamani Vas, At Post Denap,
Taluka- Visnagar, Dist. Mahesana
.…Petitioner
V/s
1. Rabari Laxmiben Rameshbhai Sukhabhai
Aged: Adult, Hindu, Female, Occ: Farmer;
Residing at;
26, Vishvakarma Society, Kheralu Road,
Taluka- Visnagar, Dist. Mahesana-384315.
2. Rabari Abherajbhai Sukhabhai
Aged: Adult, Hindu, Female, Occ: Farmer;
Residing at;
26, Vishvakarma Society, Kheralu Road,
Taluka- Visnagar, Dist. Mahesana-384315.
3. Rabari Sukhabhai Varvabhai
Aged: Adult, Hindu, Female, Occ: Farmer;
Residing at;
26, Vishvakarma Society, Kheralu Road,
Taluka- Visnagar, Dist. Mahesana-384315.
4. Rabari Shantaben Sukhabhai
Aged: Adult, Hindu, Female, Occ: Farmer;
Residing at;
26, Vishvakarma Society, Kheralu Road,
Taluka- Visnagar, Dist. Mahesana-384315.
5. Rabari Ramilaben Abherajbhai Sukhabhai
Aged: Adult, Hindu, Female, Occ: Farmer;
Residing at;
26, Vishvakarma Society, Kheralu Road,
Taluka- Visnagar, Dist. Mahesana-384315.
.…Respondent
TO
THE HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE AND
THE OTHER HONOURABLE JUDGES OF THE
HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
THE HUMBLE PETITION OF
PETITIONERS ABOVENAMED
MOST RESPECTFULLY SHEWETH THAT:
1. That, the petitioner is a citizen of India and is as such
residing at the address mentioned in the cause title. That,
the petitioner is involved in the business of real estate
development through his proprietorship by the name of
“Shree Ganesh Engineers” and is as such having various
projects in and around Mehsana.
2. That, the Respondent Nos. 1 to 5 belong to the same family
and are as such together the owners of land bearing survey
number 412, 413, 414, 415, 416 and 417, Ta. Visnagar, Dist:
Mehsana, having khata no: 9527 and admeasuring 1-94-14
H.R.Sq.Mtr, which land was amalgamated to form
block/survey no. 412 (hereinafter referred to as the “Suit
property”). That, the Respondent No. 6, is currently in
possession of the suit property and as such to the best
knowledge of the petitioner is also a developer.
3. That, for the purposes of development of the said land, the
Respondent Nos. 1 to 5 had approached the petitioner herein
and accordingly the consideration price of the suit property
was agreed at Rs. 20,01,00,000/- (Rupees Twenty Crore and
One lakh Only/-). That, the aforementioned sale
consideration for the suit property further made part of an
agreement to sell dated 13.09.2018 which was entered into
between the Noticee No. 1 to 5. That, the Petitioner and the
Respondent Nos. 1 to 5 had on that very day further entered
into a development agreement dated 13.09.2018, by virtue
of which development rights were given to the Petitioner and
possession of the suit property was handed over to the
Petitioner by the Respondent. A copy of the Agreement to
sell dated 13.09.2018 is annexed hereto and marked as
Annexure-“A” and a copy of the Development Agreement
dated 13.09.2018 is annexed hereto and marked as
Annexure-“B”.
4. It is submitted that, the development agreement and the
agreement to sell are part of the same transaction wherein
the consideration for the development is based on
purchasing the said land arising out of the agreement to sell
and therefore it is imperative that both the agreements
maybe considered as part of the same arrangement, which
cannot be bifurcated.
5. That, thereafter, Petitioner made substantial payments to
Respondent Nos. 1 to 5 and further had made investments in
getting the Non-Agricultural permissions for the suit property
That, thereafter, the Petitioner had made further investment
by way of getting architects and engineers involved for the
process of development of the suit property and as such had
begun construction on the said parcel of land thus involving
further large sums of investment from the petitioner in the
said suit property which all investments taken together
amount to the tune of Rs. 14,00,00,000/- (Fourteen Crores).
A copy of the project report is annexed hereto and marked as
Annexure-“C”.
6. That, in 2020 due to covid-19 pandemic, the construction
works had stopped and further the customers of the
petitioner who had otherwise made bookings on the said suit
property had reneged on making payments to the petitioner
as a reason of which certain payments could not be made on
time. That, despite the severe cash flow problems, the
petitioner had made payments to Respondent No. 1 to 5 to
the tune of Rs. 5,85,00,000/- (Rupees Five Crore and Eighty
Five Thousand) in bits and pieces over and above the
substantial investment done in the project itself and as such,
as the petitioner could not make payments as per the wishes
of the Respondent Nos. 1 to 5, the Respondent Nos. 1 to 5
began threatening the petitioner and had in fact given
threats of grave injury, harm and threat to life claiming to be
from Rabari Community.
7. That, thereafter, the Petitioner was forcibly made to sign
blank papers by the Respondent Nos. 1 to 5 on 17.11.2021.
That, in fact even on the blank papers taken by the
Respondent Nos. 1 to 5, the petitioner herein had specifically
written “W-O” which means with objection as the petitioner
was unaware as to what was the purpose of said singned
blank papers.
8. That, Respondent Nos. 1 to 5 thereafter on 30.07.2022, after
almost a gap of 8 months, made a publication in Sandesh
newspaper claiming to have cancelled the agreement to sell
of the suit property as well as the development agreement
dated 13.09.2018. A copy of the publication made in
Sandesh newspaper dated 30.07.2022 is annexed hereto and
marked as Annexure-“D”. That, in response to the said
publication, the petitioner herein had published a notice in
Divya Bhaskar dated 03.08.2022 denying the facts as raised
in the Sandesh newspaper notice dated 30.07.2022. A copy
of the notice publication in Divya Bhaskar dated 03.08.2022
is annexed hereto and marked as Annexure-“E”.
9. That, thereafter the Petitioner herein and the Respondents
had a meeting and as such it was again agreed that, the
Petitioner would continue to develop the suit property and
that there was no cancellation of the earlier agreements to
sell and develop the suit property. That, thereafter on
26.01.2024, the petitioner was forcibly removed from the
suit property and further the petitioners agents, workers,
architects, engineers were not permitted to conduct work in
the suit property and further the Vision protons board was
affixed on the suit property.
10. The petitioner being aggrieved by the high handedness
of the Respondent Nos. 1 to 5, was constrained to issue an
Arbitration Notice dated 01.02.2024 to the Respondents and
as such had further filed an application under Section 9 of
the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, seeking status quo on
the suit property and further not to create any third party
rights. It is stated that, in reply to the Section 9 application,
the Respondents for the first time had placed on record the
purported cancellation agreements dated 17.11.2021. A
copy of the cancellation agreements qua the agreement to
sell and agreement to develop the suit property are annexed
hereto and marked as Annexure-“F”. A copy of the order
dated 31.01.2025 passed by the Hon’ble Commercial Court
at Mehsana is annexed hereto and marked as
Annexure-“G”. A copy of the Arbitration Notice dated
01.02.2024 along with track report is annexed hereto and
marked as Annexure-“H”.
11. It is further stated that the said cancellation deed does
not account for the huge sums of investment made on
account of constructions done on the suit property and
further the amounts paid in premium for getting the land
converted from the Agricultural to Non-Agricultural Land. It is
not conceivable why the petitioner would withdraw from the
project without taking due consideration for investment
already made in the said suit property, leading to the only
conclusion that the petitioner had never agreed to cancel the
development agreement and agreement to sell dated
13.09.2018.
12. That, in this regard, disputes regarding specific
performance of the development agreement and agreement
to sell dated 13.09.2018 and other claims are to be referred
before the Hon’ble Arbitral Tribunal as per clause 14 of the
Development agreement.
13. In view of Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act
1996 and the Scheme for Appointment of Arbitrator by Chief
Justice of Gujarat High Court, 1996, it is submitted that the
Respondents have failed to appoint an Arbitrator as per Clause 14
of the Development agreement dated 13.09.2018 within 30 days
from the receipt of the Notice issued by the Petitioner. Under the
circumstances, the Petitioner prefers this Application before this
Hon’ble Court under Section 11 of the Arbitration & Conciliation
Act, 1996, in terms of the Scheme for Appointment of Arbitrator
by the Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court, 1996, for which this
Hon’ble Court has original jurisdiction.
14. It is submitted that since all the Respondents as well as the
Petitioner are residing at Mehsana and since the disputes that
have arisen are composite in nature which shall require
adjudication by the same Tribunal, it is absolutely necessary and
imperative that this Hon’ble Court entertain the present Petition
under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.
15. The Petitioner has not filed any other petition either before
this Hon’ble Court or before any other Court in India on the
subject matter of this petition. The Petitioner has already given
their Notice Invoking Arbitration; however, the Respondents have
failed to act as required under the procedure agreed and
appoint/nominate any Arbitrator within 30 days of the receipt of
the request of the Petitioner. Hence, the Petitioner seeks
indulgence of this Hon’ble Court under Section 11 of Arbitration
and Conciliation Act, 1996.
16. In the premises aforesaid, the Petitioner prays that:-
(A) This Hon’ble Court be pleased to allow this Application;
(B) This Hon’ble Court may be pleased to appoint a former
Judge of the High Court of Gujarat as the Sole Arbitrator in
terms of procedure for appointment of Arbitrator as laid
down in Clause 14 of the Development Agreement dated
13.09.2018 for adjudication of dispute between the parties.
(C) Any other and further order as this Hon’ble Court deems
just and proper in the interest of justice may be granted.
12. The Petitioner is ready and willing to deposit an amount of Rs.
1,000/- in this Hon’ble Court as per the provisions of Clause 12 of
the Scheme for appointment of Arbitrators by the Chief Justice of
Gujarat High Court, 1996.
AND FOR THIS ACT OF KINDNESS AND JUSTICE, THE PETITIONER, AS IN
DUTY BOUND, SHALL FOREVER PRAY.
Place: Ahmedabad.
Date: 28.02.2025 _____________________________
ADVOCATE FOR THE PETITIONER.
AFFIDAVIT
I, Mr. Mr. Prajapati Baldevbhai Gangarambhai , Hindu, Male,
Aged 62 Years, Occupation: Business, the Petitioner herein, do hereby
solemnly affirm and state that the statements made in the foregoing
paragraphs 1 to 15 are true to the best of my knowledge, information
and belief and I believe the same to be true and paragraph 16 is a
prayer clause.
SOLEMNLY AFFIRMED at Ahmedabad 28 day of February, 2025.
_________________
Deponent
I identify the Deponent.
Advocate for the Petitioner
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
(DISTRICT: MEHSANA)
ARBITRATION PETITION NO._______OF 2025
Mr. Prajapati Baldevbhai Gangarambhai
(Proprietor of Shree Ganesh Engineers)
.…Petitioner
V/s
Rabari Laxmiben Rameshbhai Sukhabhai and Ors.
.…Respondent
INDEX
Annexur Particulars Page
e No
Memo of the Petition
A. Copy of the Agreement to sell dated
13.09.2018
B. Copy of the Development Agreement
dated 13.09.2018
C. A copy of the project report
D. A copy of the publication made in
Sandesh newspaper dated 30.07.2022
E. Copy of the notice publication in Divya
Bhaskar dated 03.08.2022
F. A copy of the cancellation agreements
qua the agreement to sell and
agreement to develop the suit property
G. A copy of the order dated 31.01.2025
passed by the Hon’ble Commercial
Court at Mehsana
H. A copy of the Arbitration Notice dated
01.02.2024
