Judgment This second appeal has been argued clearly and concisely by Mr. S. Viswanathan for the appellant. The suit was for specific performance of an agreement to convey land to the plaintiff alleged to have been entered into with the defendants. The dispute between the parties has a long history starting from 1927 when the properties now in suit along with others were conveyed by the plaintiff to the predecessors-in-title of the defendants. Suffice it to say that under Exhibit P-2, dated 5th August, 1937 and Exhibit P-3, dated 21st December, 1938, there were agreements to reconvey the plaint A and B schedule lands to the plaintiff for Rs. 100 and Rs. 507-4-0 respectively within two years from the dates of the agreements. The agreements for reconveyance were entered into by the father of defendants 1 and 2 in respect of the “A” schedule land and by the first defendant in respect of the “B” schedule land. The father of defendants 1 and 2 died thereafter and the defendants represent his interest. The plaintiff made certain payments to the defendants amounting to Rs. 300 during the years 1939 to 1942 and alleged that the time for performance of the contracts, Exhibits P-2 and P-3 had been extended by the defendants. Disputes arose between the parties, each side charging the other with default in performance. There was a panchayat at which it was decided on 3rd January, 1944, that plaintiff should pay Rs. 550 to the defendants and take a conveyance of the lands. A sum of Rs. 450 was paid by the plaintiff to the defendants on 3rd January, 1944, the balance having been agreed to be payable at the time of the registration of the sale deed. The plaintiff’s case is that he also went into possession of the lands agreed to be conveyed to him. Disputes again arose between the parties and the plaintiff filed a complaint of criminal trespass against the defendants which was registered as C.C. No. 201 of 1944. Again there was a panchayat whose decision, Exhibit P-7, dated 4th March, 1944, was to the effect that defendants should convey the “A” and “B” schedule properties to the plaintiff on receipt of a further sum of Rs. 200 and that the criminal case filed by the plaintiff should be withdrawn. Again there was a panchayat whose decision, Exhibit P-7, dated 4th March, 1944, was to the effect that defendants should convey the “A” and “B” schedule properties to the plaintiff on receipt of a further sum of Rs. 200 and that the criminal case filed by the plaintiff should be withdrawn. On 6th March, 1944, both the parties signed a memorandum Exhibit P-1 compounding the criminal case and agreeing to the acquittal of the accused, the present defendants 1 and 2. The plaintiff called upon the defendants to execute the conveyance by his notice, Exhibit P-9, dated 23rd February, 1944, but the defendants denied that there was a panchayat as alleged by the plaintiff or that there was any award of the panchayat-dars or any subsequent arrangement obliging them to convey the lands in his favour. Thereupon the plaintiff filed the present suit for specific performance which has been decreed by the Courts below. The first point argued by the appellant’s learned advocate is that the suit is one to enforce an award given on oral reference or submission to arbitration and is not maintainable by reason of the provisions of the Arbitration Act, 1940. It is common ground that there was no written submission to the panchayatdars. Prior to the enactment of the Arbitration Act of 1940 it had been held by this and other High Courts that there was nothing in the Arbitration Act of 1899 or in section 89 and schedule 2 of the Civil Procedure Code of 1908, rendering an oral agreement to refer to arbitration invalid. A parole submission was held to be a legal submission to arbitration and an award passed on an oral reference was held to be valid and enforceable by a suit though not by the special procedure prescribed by Schedule 2, Civil Procedure Code or the Arbitration Act of 1899. (See Ponnamma v. Kotamma1, Mathuradas v. Maganlal Parbhudas2 and Ramautar Sah v. Langat Singh3). The question is whether the Arbitration Act of 1940 has superseded the law as laid down in these cases. The answer is not free from difficulty in view of the uncertain nature of the statutory provisions. The preamble shows that the object of the Act was to consolidate and amend the law relating to arbitration and it is a legitimate assumption to make that the Act is exhaustive of the law of arbitration in India. The answer is not free from difficulty in view of the uncertain nature of the statutory provisions. The preamble shows that the object of the Act was to consolidate and amend the law relating to arbitration and it is a legitimate assumption to make that the Act is exhaustive of the law of arbitration in India. Oral submissions to arbitration and awards passed thereon are not so much as referred to, much less saved by the Act, even though the decisions referred to above must presumably have been within the knowledge of the draftsman and the Legislature. At the same time there is no provision in the Act that an award on an oral submission would be invalid and unenforceable. Section 2(a) of the Act defines “Arbitration agreement” as a written agreement to submit present or future differences to arbitration, but section 2(b) defines an “award” not as an award on an arbitration agreement, but as an arbitration award, an expression which prima facie would include an award on an oral submission. Section 47 of the Act enacts that the provisions of the Act apply “to all arbitrations and to all proceedings thereunder”. Section 32 of the Act lays down that no suit shall lie on any ground whatever for a decision upon the existence, effect or validity of an arbitration agreement or award. Section 14(2) of the Act prescribes the procedure for filing an award in Court and it is made a condition of the exercise of the Court’s power under the section that an “Arbitration agreement” as defined in section 2(a) must exist. The question whether it was intended merely to make awards on oral submissions unenforceable under the procedure of the Arbitration Act or to make them invalid and unenforceable altogether, would depend to a large extent on whether the Act is exhaustive of the law of arbitration. I am inclined to think that it is. I therefore hold that an award passed on oral submission can neither be filed and made a rule of Court under the Act, nor enforced apart from the Act. The same opinion has been expressed in Gauri Singh v. Ramlochan Singh1. I am inclined to think that it is. I therefore hold that an award passed on oral submission can neither be filed and made a rule of Court under the Act, nor enforced apart from the Act. The same opinion has been expressed in Gauri Singh v. Ramlochan Singh1. In paragraph 7 of the plaint it was alleged that the parties to the suit had agreed to act according to the award of the arbitrators, in other words, the parties had adopted the award as their own consensual agreement and acted upon it. They filed a memorandum, Exhibit P-1 dated 6th March, 1944, stating that in pursuance of the decision of the villagers they were compounding the criminal case 201 of 1944 and that the accused (defendants 1 and 2) might be acquitted. The criminal case could not have been compounded except by the agreement of parties and the award by itself could not have resulted in a composition of the offence. The offence was compounded two days after the award. There is some evidence, though meagre, to show that the parties accepted the award and agreed to abide by its terms and acted in pursuance of such agreement. There was an agreement for sufficient consideration to withdraw the criminal complaint and also to convey the property. Though the case has proceeded on the basis that there was a reference to arbitration and an award, a scrutiny of the evidence discloses that there was only a self-constituted panchayat of the villagers who claimed to exercise some sort of disciplinary jurisdiction over the inhabitants of the village and a decision was given by the body of villagers to the effect that the disputes between the parties should be settled on the lines laid down by them. Indeed the assertion of caste or village autonomy was carried to. such an extent as to impose a fine on the plaintiff for venturing to go to Court abandoning the caste forum. It is difficult to say that there was a reference to arbitration in any legal sense and all that appears is there was an informal decision given by the villagers who claimed exclusive jurisdiction in themselves to decide disputes arising between the members of the community. The parties to the suit accepted the decision as their own and to some extent carried it out. The parties to the suit accepted the decision as their own and to some extent carried it out. In these circumstances the defendants having adopted the decision of the village panchayat and agreed to carry out its terms, must convey the properties to the plaintiff. The result is that the decree of the Courts below is correct and this second appeal should be dismissed with costs. (No leave). V.P.S. ----- Appeal dismissed.