A granted to the second appellant. T.he appellants addressed a letter on May 30, 1952 to the Chief Conser\iator of Forests, Himachal Pradesh, requring that Officer to submit the matters in difference to the arbitration of the Deputy Commissioner, Mandi District. By his reply dated June 23, · 1952, the Chief Conservator declined to agree to a reference contending that the matters B desired to be referred to were outside the arbitration clause. On June 22, 1955 the appellants applied to the District Court ofChamba for an order that the agreement dated November 1, 1950 be filed in the Court and that the disputes between them and the State be referred to the sole arbitration of the Deputy Commissioner, Mandi District. The State of Himachal Pradesh, contended, c inter alia, that the application for filing the arbitration l}greement was barred by the law of limitation as the right to apply, if any, arose in the year 1950 and not on June 23, 1952, as alleged. The Court of First Instance held that the Limitation Act did not govern an application for filing an arbitration agreement under s. 20 of the Arbitration Act, 1940, and that even if the application was governed by Art. 181 of Sch. I of the Limitation Act, 1908, since D the application was made. within three years from the date on which the Chief Conservator of Forests, Himachal Pradesh, declined to make a reference, it was not barred. The Court accordingly ordered that the agreement be filed and the disputes be referred to the arbitrator named in the agreement. During the pendency of this application before the Trial Court, the Part 'C' State of Himachal Pradesh became Union Territory, and the Union of India . was substituted as a party in place of the State of Himachal Pradesh. In appeal by the Union of India, the Judicial Commissioner, Hirnachal Pradesh, reversed the order of the Trial Court. In the view of the Judicial Commissioner ari application for filing an arbitration agreement under s. 20 of the Arbitration Act is governed by Art. 181 of the Limitation Act, and since the ' period of three years prescribed thereby commences to run from the date on ·which the differences arose betw~n the parties, I.e., about the month of September-October 1950, and in any case on September 1, 1951, the application for reference filed by the appellants was barred.
