MUMBAI: An arbitral panel on Monday restrained a restaurant and lounge bar in Andheri (West) from selling liquor or “playing loud music“ following a dispute between a housing society and a builder.

Evertop Apartments Cooperative Housing Society had moved the Bombay high court against Lotus Logistics and Developers in April 2017 for alleged breach of agreement after `Drinking Kulture', a bar (right), opened on the premises. The society claimed that in a redevelopment agreement signed in 2008 it had forbidden opening of a bar in the free sale building.

The dispute over the bar that opened last December was sent by Justice S J Kathawalla to a sole arbitrator. “Pending the hearing and final disposal of the present suit, the defendants -developer and others -are hereby restrained from in any manner using or permitting anyone else to use the suit premises to sell liquor or play loud music,“ arbitrator Shailesh Shah said on Monday.

The order will come into effect after two weeks. This will give the bar management and the developer time to appeal. Shah heard Birendra Saraf , counsel for the society, Pravin Samdani, for the developer, Prateek Sakseria, for the buyer who let out the premises to the restaurant and bar, and Mayur Khandepar kar, for Drinking Kulture before passing the order.

Saraf said when the society on New Link Road, a prime area in Andheri (W), entered into a redevelopment deal, it had included the clause against a bar on the premises as it would trouble senior citizens and affect young minds.

Khandeparkar of Drinking Kulture said the establishment had installed a sound reduction system, a glass layer of 30mm (99.99% sound reduction glass) in the entire lounge, and a double layer of soundproof doors at the entrance to ensure sound did not go out.

Samdani, the builder's counsel, argued that the agreement had been terminated and, hence, the society cannot seek enforcement of one of its clauses. The arbitrator said though the agreement terminated in 2015, “suffice to say that prima facie there is a violation of clause 29 that prohibits opening of a pub or playing of loud music entitling the claimant to interim relief“.

After the order, a partner of the company that owns the bar said: “We feel we are being punished for no good reason. We have all the requisite licences and permissions in place. We were kept in the dark about any dispute between the society and the developer (about clause 29). Our agreement with the owner of the premises states that they were given to us to run a restaurant and lounge bar, which is allowed to sell liquor.“

