Maintainability of an appeal u/s 37 of A&C Act, 1996 against a Tribunal's order on joinder or non-joinder of parties under section 16 of the A&C Act,1996.
Section 16 of the A&C Act, 1996 is one of the important and complex statutes of the Act. It is not complex for the bare statutory provisions, but for the weight of powers envisaged behind it. It reads as thus Section 16: Competence of an arbitral tribunal to rule on its jurisdiction. (2) A plea that the arbitral tribunal does not have jurisdiction shall be raised not later than the submission of the statement of defence; however, a party shall not be precluded from raising such a plea merely because that he has appointed, or participated in the appointment of, an arbitrator. (3) A plea that the arbitral tribunal is exceeding the scope of its authority shall be raised as soon as the matter alleged to be beyond the scope of its authority is raised during the arbitral proceedings. (4) The arbitral tribunal may, in either of the cases referred to in sub-section (2) or sub-section (3), admit a later plea if it considers the delay justified. (5) The arbitral...