A winding-up petition may allow exclusion of time from limitation calculations if prosecuted in good faith and relates to the same matter as the subsequent claims.

JUDGMENT :

1. By this Arbitration Petition, the Petitioner is seeking setting aside of the impugned Award dated 6th June, 2022.

2. A brief background of facts which are germane to the issue arising in the Arbitration Petition filed under Section 34 of the ARBITRATION ACT are necessary to be adverted to and which are as under:

(i) An Agreement dated 29th November, 2011 was executed between the Petitioner and Respondent for purchase of salvage material from project site for a lump sum consideration of Rs.1,95,00,000/-. The Petitioner had admittedly paid the sum of Rs.51,38,000/- to the Respondent as Security Deposit which was to be adjusted against the salvage material to be delivered by the Respondent to the Petitioner. The Agreement was valid from 29th November, 2011 upto December 2014. It is necessary to note that the Respondent failed to supply any salvage material to the Petitioner.

(ii) On 1st January, 2016, the Petitioner through his Advocate issued a legal notice to the Respondent calling upon the Respondent to refund the deposit amount of Rs.51,38,000/- alongwith interest.

(iii) The Respondent through its Advocate issued a Notice dated 15th January, 2016 refusing to refund the security deposit.

(iv) The Petitioner filed a Company Petition No.269 of 2016 under Sections 433 , 434 and 439 of the COMPANIES ACT , 1956 (“Winding-up Petition”) praying for winding up the Respondent.

(v) The Company Registrar of this Court by order dated 14th June, 2016 accepted the Company Petition No.269 of 2016 and directed the Petitioner to issue notice to the Respondent.

(vi) By order dated 6th February, 2018, this Court allowed the Petitioner to withdraw the Winding-up Petition with liberty to initiate appropriate proceedings.

(vii) The Petitioner filed Commercial Summary Suit No.721 of 2018 before the this Court on 21st June, 2018 and Summons for Judgment No.79 of 2018 was taken out therein.

(viii) The Respondent filed its Affidavit seeking leave to defend the Summary Suit on 27th August, 2018.

(ix) By order dated 3rd October, 2018, this Court with consent of parties referred the dispute forming the subject matter of the Summary Suit to arbitration before the Arbitral Tribunal consisting of Sole Arbitrator and the plaint was directed to be treated as the Statement of Claim.

(x) The impugned Award was passed on 6th June, 2022 by the Arbitral Tribunal.

(xi) The Arbitration Petition has been filed on 5th September, 2022 challenging the impugned Award.

3. Mr. Khandeparkar, learned Counsel appearing for the Petitioner has submitted that the issue involved in the present Arbitration Petition involves a pure question