JUDGMENT : DHIRAJ SINGH THAKUR, J. 1. The present petition has been filed in terms of Section 8 of the Jammu and Kashmir Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1997 for reference of the disputes mentioned in the petition for arbitration to an independent arbitrator. 2. The dispute as gets reflected from the amended petition filed by the petitioner is that the petitioner had procured orders from D.G.S. and D., Railways, ITI, HMT Ranchi for supply of timber of respondents-Corporation and in that regard, the orders so procured were executed by the respondents-Corporation for an amount of Rs. 3,19,67,735/-. 3. It is stated that out of the total sale of timber for the aforesaid amount, the respondents- Corporation had received an amount of Rs. 2,90,14,032/- from the above consignees. As against the amount so received by the respondent-Corporation, it is asserted that commission amounting to Rs. 13,07,057/- remains unpaid. Apart from this, the petitioner claims that as a part of the recovery team, he was instrumental in ensuring that time barred claims of the Corporation against consignees were got re-opened yet again and certain amounts recovered pursuant thereto for which certain additional amounts were required to be paid as commission to the petitioner. 4. It is urged that an agreement dated 3-2-1984 was executed between the Corporation and the petitioner, which contained an arbitration clause, envisaging resolution of disputes by the Managing Director whose decision was to be final and binding on the parties. However, what is asserted in para 12 of the petition is the fact that the original agreement was not traceable by the petitioner and was lying with the J. and K. State Forest Corporation, Jammu, who had denied the existence of any such agreement and had claimed that the same is not traceable. A.A. No. 16/2012 5. The petitioner in the present petition has made a similar claim on account of commission from the respondents-Corporation, details whereof are given in the petition. 6. Objections have been filed by the State Forest Corporation wherein it has denied the existence of any agreement or arbitration clause between the petitioner and the Corporation. It has further been stated that no such record, agreement or arbitration clause is forthcoming from the records of the Corporation and that the onus to prove and establish the existence of such an agreement, containing such an arbitration clause was, therefore, on the petitioner. 7. It has further been stated that no such record, agreement or arbitration clause is forthcoming from the records of the Corporation and that the onus to prove and establish the existence of such an agreement, containing such an arbitration clause was, therefore, on the petitioner. 7. Heard learned counsel for the parties. 8. Section 8 of the Jammu and Kashmir Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1997 envisages reference of the disputes to arbitration and reads as under: "8. Power to refer parties to arbitration where there is an arbitration agreement. (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. (2) The application referred to in sub-section (1) shall not be entertained unless it is accompanied by the original arbitration agreement or a duly certified copy thereof. (3).............. 9. From a reading of the aforementioned section, it, thus, becomes clear that in the absence of an original arbitration agreement or duly certified copy thereof, the present arbitration petitions cannot at all be entertained especially in a case where the official respondents have clearly denied the existence of any such agreement or any such agreement clause as asserted in the petition. 10. For the reasons mentioned above, these petitions tire held to be not maintainable and are accordingly dismissed.