M. K. BASU, J. ( 1 ) THIS appeal is admitted for hearing. The appellant is aggrieved of an order dated 13. 1. 2000 passed by the learned Judge, City Civil Court Xth Bench, Calcutta whereby, in a pending application filed under section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, the learned trial Court had granted an expert ad-interim injunction against the appellant and in favour of the respondent restraining the appellant from seizing and/or taking possession of the vehicle forming the subject matter of the aforesaid petition, on the terms contained in that order. ( 2 ) THE sole ground urged by the learned Advocate appearing for the appellant against the aforesaid order is that the learned Court below had no jurisdiction to entertain the application under section 9 of the 1996 Act and therefore, on that ground alone, it had not jurisdiction whatsoever to pass any interim order. The argument is that no petition under section 9 (supra) was maintainable because of the total absence of any Arbitration Agreement existing between the parties. A copy of the Hire Purchase Agreement between the parties has been filed along with the stay application. We have perused the same and found that indeed it does not contain any arbitration clause. It is thus the admitted case of the parties that there does not exist any Arbitration Agreement between the parties with regard to the subject matter of the aforesaid petition under section 9 (supra ). ( 3 ) SECTION 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 relates to the grant of interim measures by the Court. The very opening part of the sanction reads thus:"section 9. Interim measures etc. by Court.-A party may, before or during arbitral proceedings or at any time after the making of the arbitral award but before it is enforced in accordance with section 36, apply to a Court". ( 4 ) THE expression before or during arbitral proceedings or at any time after the making of the arbitral award", as occurring in the very opening part of section 9 of the Act clearly suggests that the existence of an Arbitration Agreement between the parties is a sine qua non to the maintain ability of an application under section 9 (supra ). It is only if an Arbitration Agreement exists between the parties that the arbitral proceedings between them can commence and an arbitral award can be passed by the arbitral tribunal. The existence of the arbitration agreement therefore being a condition precedent for the maintainability of an application under section 9 of the Act, it is not understood as to how the learned Court below not only entertained the application, but went as far as granting ad interim injunction in favour of the respondents, without so much as bothering to find out or enquire as to whether an Arbitration Agreement exists or not. ( 5 ) IN fact in the recent past we have come across a few cases of the like nature where the learned Courts below have entertained applications under section 9 of the Act without there being any arbitration agreement between the parties. In such cases the Courts have even passed orders in the nature of granting ad interim injunctions. It is the paramount duty of every Court before which an Application under section 9 of the Act is brought or is presented to ensure and satisfy itself that there does exist an Arbitration Agreement between the parties and that the disputes and questions raised in the application fall and come within the scope and purview of the said agreement and that the disputes are actually arbitrable. It is only after the Court satisfies itself that there does exist an arbitration agreement between the parties and that the disputes forming the subject matter of the petition under section 9 of the Act are arbitrable, should the Court proceed further to consider the merits of the application under section 9 of the Act and decide as to whether to grant injunction or not, or to pass any other suitable order or not. In the present case, however we must say that the learned Court below committed a grave error in not enquiring from the petitioner/respondent about the existence of an arbitration agreement and without doing so, entertained the petition and granted ad interim relief in favour of the respondent. ( 6 ) FOR the foregoing reasons therefore, we allow this appeal and set aside the judgment and order impugned herein. ( 6 ) FOR the foregoing reasons therefore, we allow this appeal and set aside the judgment and order impugned herein. Because of the fact that the appeal is being disposed of on the ground that there is no arbitration agreement existing between the parties, the parties agree that we dismiss the application under section 9 of the Act itself. ( 7 ) WE direct the Registrar General of this Court to immediately circulate the copies of this judgment to all the Courts for their guidance and information. ( 8 ) THE appeal, application for stay and the application under section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 accordingly are all disposed of. ( 9 ) NO order as to costs. Let urgent Xerox certified copy of this judgment be given to the learned Advocates for the parties. V. K. Gupta, J.-Appeal allowed Application for stay and application under section 9 are disposed of. Appeal disposed of