G. C. BHARUKA, J. ( 1 ) HEARD the learned counsel for the petitioners. ( 2 ) THIS is defendants revision under S. 115 of the C. P. C. On their appearance, the defendants filed LA. 2 under S. 8 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (in short the Act) requesting the Court for referring the parties to arbitration. Admittedly the defendants have not filed their written statements so far, According to the Court below, the defendants had not filed the original arbitration agreement or the certified copy thereof along with LA. 2. By the impugned order, the Court below has rejected the LA. to two grounds. Firstly, for the reason that no application under S. 8 of the act is entertainable unless the defendants file their first statement on the substance of the dispute. Secondly that as required under sub-sec. (2) of S. 8, neither the original arbitration agreement nor a. duly certified copy thereof has been filed with the application. ( 3 ) SO far as the first ground is concerned, it is appropriate to reproduce sub-sec. (1) of s. 8 of the Act, which reads as under :" (1) A judicial authority before which an action is brought in a matter which is the subject of an arbitration agreement shall, if a party so applies not later than when submitting his first statement on the substance of the dispute, refer the parties to arbitration. " ( 4 ) A reading of the above section makes it abundantly clear that the application for referring the parties to the arbitration can be filed at any time but not later than when the first statement of substance of dispute is filed. Therefore, an application under S. 8 (1) can be filed at any time prior to or at the time of filing the written statement. Therefore the first ground given by the Court below for rejecting the prayer of the petitioner is clearly contrary to the provisions contained in S. 8 (1) of the Act. ( 5 ) SO far as the second ground is concerned, there is a specific finding by the trial court that the defendant had not filed either the original arbitration agreement or a duly certified copy thereof. Even in the present revision petition the petitioners have not specifically stated that the trial Court has committed an error of record in stating the said fact. Even in the present revision petition the petitioners have not specifically stated that the trial Court has committed an error of record in stating the said fact. Sub-section (2) of S. 8 of the act specifically provides that an application for referring the parties to arbitration"shall not be entertained unless it is accompanied by the original arbitration agreement or duly certified copy thereof. " ( 6 ) FOR the aforesaid reasons, I find no ground to interfere with the impugned order under S. 115 CPC. The revision petition is, accordingly, dismissed. Petition dismissed. --- *** --- .