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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
G. S. KULKARNI, ADVAIT M. SETHNA, JJ
Ntpc Bhel Power Projects Pvt. Ltd. – Appellant
Versus
Shree Electricals & Engineers (India) Pvt. Ltd. – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
G.S. Kulkarni, J.
1. This appeal under Section 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (for short “ACA”) is directed against the judgment and order dated 21 July, 2023 passed by the learned District Judge No. 2 at Pune, whereby Civil Miscellaneous Application No. 343 of 2023 filed by the appellant under Section 34 of the ACA challenging an arbitral award dated 5 February 2020 passed by the Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council, Pune (for short "Facilitation Council") constituted under the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 (for short "the MSME Act”) has been dismissed on the ground that the same is filed beyond the limitation as prescribed under sub-section (3) of Section 34 of the ACA.
2. The relevant facts are: Disputes and differences had arisen between the parties under the purchase order dated 9 March, 2013. The respondent accordingly approached the Facilitation Council making a claim of an amount of Rs. 4,50,92,587/-. There were attempts to bring about a settlement. In fact, a Settlement Agreement dated 16 May, 2016 was entered between the parties, however, certain dues were claimed by the respondent. The dispute hence was ta
The court determined that delay in filing a Section 34 application was justifiable due to the appellant's prior bona fide pursuit of a Writ Petition and the impact of COVID-19 on limitation periods.
Section 14 of the Limitation Act applies to petitions under Section 34 of the Arbitration Act, allowing exclusion of time spent in an incorrect forum if acted upon with due diligence.
The limitation period for an application under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act cannot be extended beyond specified timelines, maintaining strict adherence to legal provisions.
The main legal point established in the judgment is that the period of limitation under Section 34(3) of the A&C Act refers to three calendar months, and the benefit of Section 14 of the Limitation A....
The application under Section 34(2) of the Act was not entitled to the benefit of Section 14 of the Limitation Act, as the appellant did not prosecute any civil proceedings in good faith and with due....
The Limitation Act applies to arbitration proceedings under Section 34 of the ACA, but the condonable period does not extend beyond 30 days when it expires during a court holiday.
The court permitted the condonation of delay due to previous proceedings in a wrong forum and pandemic-related delays, emphasizing liberal construction of the Limitation Act.
The main legal point established in the judgment is that the limitation to challenge an award continued during the COVID-19 pandemic, and there was no need to file an application for condonation of d....
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