Inordinate delays in filing appeals under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act cannot be condoned without sufficient cause, emphasizing the need for expedient dispute resolution.

JUDGMENT :

VIBHU BAKHRU, CJ.

1. The appellant has filed the present appeal under Section 37 (1)(c) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 [the A&C Act impugning the common order dated 20.08.2024 [impugned order passed by the learned Commercial Court in COM.A.P.No.90/2022 and COM.A.P.No.100/2022. The present appeal is confined to the impugned order insofar as it relates to COM.A.P.No.90/2022.

2. The appellant had filed the said petition under Section 34 of the A&C Act assailing an arbitral award dated 23.08.2011 [impugned award] delivered by the Arbitral Tribunal.

3. The impugned award is rendered in context of the disputes that had arisen between the parties in connection with the contract agreement dated 19.08.2011 [the Agreement] for execution of the works described as:

"Arsikere - Birur Patch doubling - Kadur yard remodeling including formation, ballast, track linking, regrading, construction of minor bridges, RUB, PSC, FOB, platform, PF shelters and other miscellaneous works."

4. It is stated that the appellant had preferred thirty claims. However, except claims for release of performance guarantee and security deposit (Claim No.2) and for price variation for an amount of Rs.1,71,076/- (Claim No.27), all claims were rejected. The respondent had also preferred counter claims, which were rejected. Accordingly, the Arbitral Tribunal granted an award for a sum of Rs.70,71,076/- in favour of the appellant. The Arbitral Tribunal also awarded simple interest at the rate of 7% p.a. on the said amount in the event, the same was not disbursed within the period of 90 days from publication of the impugned award.

5. As noted above, both the parties had preferred their respective applications under Section 34 of the A&C Act for setting aside the impugned award.

6. The learned Commercial Court faulted the Arbitral Tribunal for not taking into account relevant facts into consideration while rejecting the claims made by the appellant and concluded that the same vitiated the impugned award on the ground of patent illegality. The appellant being aggrieved by the said decision, has filed the present appeal.

7. The present appeal has been filed after an inordinate delay of three-hundred and forty days.

8. The appellant has filed an application seeking condonation of delay in filing the present appeal.

9. The appellant explains that after the impugned award was set aside by the impugned order, it had issued a letter dated 28.12.2024 for appointing an independent arbitrator as the disputes between the parties remained unresolved.

10. As noted above, the learned Commercial Court had found that the Arbitral Tribunal had rendered the impugned award without examining the relevant facts and had thus, faulted the Arbitral Tribunal.

11. The appellant claims that he did not receive any response to his request for appointment of an arbitrator. The appellant sates that the respondent was ready and willing to appoint an arbitrator provided the appellant waived its right under Section 12 (5) of the A&C Act. Since the appellant was not willing for the same, it filed a petition under Section 11 (6) of the A&C Act (being CMP No.157/2025) before the learned Single Judge of this Court for appointment of an independent or impartial Arbitrator. However, the said petition was rejected by the learned Single Judge of this Court by an order dated 26.06.2025. The learned Single Judge observed that since the claim of the appellant had been rejected by the learned Commercial Court, the question seeking appointment of an Arbitrator was not tenable, without the appellant exhausting the remedy under Section 37 of the A&C Act.

12. The appellant claims that the present appeal is filed pursuant to the observatio