Vanita Sood vs. Today Realty Private Limited and Another and connected matters
Background
Vanita Sood had agreed to buy a share in a New Friends Colony property from Today Realty and paid Rs. 55 lakh, but later discovered an undisclosed pending court appeal challenging Today Realty's ownership of the property. She sought an urgent order stopping Today Realty from selling, mortgaging, or otherwise dealing with the property while the dispute was resolved.
Decision Breakdown
After hearing preliminary arguments, both sides agreed that their dispute should be resolved through arbitration rather than continued litigation. The Court appointed a sole arbitrator (an Advocate-on-Record of the Supreme Court) to decide all claims and counter-claims under the rules of the Delhi International Arbitration Centre, leaving every substantive issue, including objections to arbitrability, open for the arbitrator to decide independently.
Lesson Learnt
Parties in a property dispute involving disputed title or undisclosed litigation can, by mutual consent, move the entire dispute to arbitration instead of prolonged court proceedings, without either side forfeiting any of their claims.