Consumer Protection Act, 1986: Sections 3, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 27.

Arbitration Act, 1940: Sections 2(a) and 34.

Code of Civil Procedure, 1908: Section 9.

Consumer Protection Act Proceedings before forums created under the Act Nature of Applicability of Section 34 of Arbitration Act-Contract for installation of centrally air-conditioned plant in respondent's house-Dispute-Complaint before Consumer Commission-Application for stay of proceedings-National Consumer Commission holding that Section 34 of Arbitration Act, 1940 was not available to stay the proceedings-Ap- peat Held proceedings before the District Forum, State Commission and the National Commission are legal proceedings-The District Forum, National Commission and the State Commission are judicial authorities falling under Section 34 of the Arbitration Act-But by invocation of Section 34, the party to the proceedings does not get an automatic right to have the proceedings pending before the judicial authorities stayed Section 34 gives discretion to the authorities to stay the proceedings on their satisfying that there was no sufficient reason why the matter should not be referred in accordance with the agreement between the parties for arbitration when the party seeking stay of the proceedings was and still remains ready and willing to do all things necessary to the proper conduct of the arbitration Though the District Forum State Commission and National Commission are judicial authorities, for the purpose of Section 34 of the Arbitration Act yet it would be appropriate that these forums are at liberty to proceed with the matters in accordance with the provisions of the Act rather than relegating the parties to an arbitration proceedings-The reason is that the Act intends to relieve the consumers of the cumbersome arbitration proceedings or civil action unless the forums on their own and on the peculiar facts and circumstances of a particular case, come to the conclusion that the appropriate forum for adjudication of the disputes would be otherwise those given in the Act-Considered from this perspective this dispute need not be referred to arbitration under clause (12) of the agreement and the matter could be decided on merits by the State Commission itself.

Arbitration agreement-Contract for carrying out installation of a centrally air-conditioned plant in respondent's residential house Breach of contract-Dispute about non existence of arbitration agreement Clause 12 of quotation When the quotation was offered with the conditions enumerated thereunder, the respondent merely made a counter-offer giving technical details of a part of the offer as counter-offer and when it was accepted by the appellant, the parties agreed for that offer and the counter offer-In other words, they became an integral part of the contract of the parties-Thereby, clause (12) of the agreement became an integral part of the contract Thus, there was an arbitration agreement between the parties.