An acknowledgment of liability can extend the limitation period for claims; communications indicating a debt recognition are crucial in determining time-barred status under the Limitation Act.

Judgment :

G.S. Kulkarni, J.

1. The judgment has been divided into the following sections to facilitate analysis:-

A. Prelude :

2. This appeal under Section 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (for short “ACA”) is directed against the judgment and order dated 10 April, 2024 rendered by the learned Single Judge of this Court in Commercial Arbitration Petition No. 342 of 2020. By the impugned order, the respondent’s petition filed under Section 34 of the ACA assailing the arbitral award dated 18 October, 2019 stands allowed, whereby the arbitral award stands quashed and set aside.

3. The only issue which was urged before the learned Single Judge in the Section 34 proceedings was on limitation, i.e.; whether the appellant’s -Seok-Am-Tech Co. Ltd. (for short “Seok”) claim in the arbitral proceedings against the respondent – Tema India Private Ltd. (for short, “Tema”) in the facts and circumstances of the case, was barred by limitation. The scope of this appeal is thus confined to such determination, within the parameters of limited interference in arbitral awards, as Section 34 of the ACA would mandate.

B. Facts :

4. It is imperative to note the facts, relevant to the dispute between the parties in some detail. They are:- The appellant-Seok, the original claimant in the arbitral proceedings, is a company incorporated under the laws of Korea. It is engaged in the business of manufacturing and engineering services specialized in the field of forging equipment for power plants, chemical and petrochemical plants, refineries and environmental plants. On the other hand, Tema is an Indian company inter alia engaged in the business as a manufacturer, producer, fabricator, processor, distributor and a dealer of general engineering equipments like exchangers, towers, drums, pressure, storage vessels etc.

5. Tema was intending to purchase/procure a supply of “low alloy steel forgings” (for short “forgings”) with particular specifications to be utilized in a project that Tema was to execute, namely, the “Essar Project”. Tema hence approached Seok for such supply of forging. Seok addressed a quotation dated 1 September, 2008 to Tema for supply of forgings, for an amount of USD 2,048,510. In September, 2008 to finalize the contract on such supply, a representative of Tema visited Korea, when the parties discussed the details on the confirmation of the order qua the forgings to be supplied by Seok. One of the issues was also to confirm that Seok would ensure timely shipping and delivery of the forgings from Korea to India, as the forgings were required to be delivered under a time schedule for the Essar Project.

6. In pursuance thereto, Tema addressed an email dated 15 September 2008 to Seok, thereby forwarding a Purchase Order dated 15 September, 2008 (Reference No. 319/PO/FORG/3825) and requested Seok to confirm the same. On 17 September, 2008, Seok by its email addressed to Tema, attached an “order confirmation” and “proforma invoice” dated 15 September, 2008 (Reference No. TEMA-2-18