IMPORTANT POINT
Arbitration Act Section 34(3) bars challenges to awards after 3 months + 30 days maximum; courts cannot extend further, ensuring immediate enforceability under Section 36 to minimize judicial intervention.

JUDGMENT :

Heard Mr. Brajesh Kumar Singh, learned counsel for the appellant.

2. The present application has been preferred:

against the order dated 20.09.2024 passed by the Learned DistrictJudge, Patna in Misc. (Arbitration) Case No. 16/2023, whereby the application filed under Section 34 of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act by the appellants challenging the arbitral award dated 18.07.2021 has been dismissed solely on the ground of limitation.

3. The appellant- Bihar State Housing Board, Patna (henceforth for short ‘the Board’) entered into an agreement with the sole respondent for the Infrastructure development of the lands under ‘the Board’ and the agreement was signed between the parties on 01.12.2011

4. The sole respondent thereafter submitted bills for the work undertaken which was not cleared by ‘the Board’. He earlier moved before this Court in CWJC No. 9212 of 2017 (M/s Enarch Consultants Private Limited vs. The Bihar State Housing Board and others) which was disposed of on 23.02.2018 allowing the petitioner to represent ‘the Board’.

(Annexure A/3 to the petition).

5. The representation of the petitioner thereafter was negated by ‘the Board’ on 19.09.2018 duly signed by its Managing Director (Annexure A/4 to the petition).

6. Thereafter the petitioner moved before the Patna High Court in Request Case No. 210 of 2019 (M/s Enarch Consultants Private Limited vs. Bihar State Housing Board & ors.) for the appointment of an Independent Arbitrator. The order came to be passed in the said request case on 19.02.2020 by the then Hon’ble the Chief Justice appointing a retired Judge of Patna High Court with a direction to the parties to appear on 30.04.2020 (Annexure- A/6 to the petition).

7. The parties appeared and thereafter, the sole Arbitrator vide an order dated 18.07.2021 directed ‘the Board’ to make payment of Rs. 1,74,85,026.00/- (rupees one crore seventy four lakh eighty five thousand and twenty six only) along with an interest of 12% on the award amount from the date of the award till the realization is made (Annexure-7 to the appeal).

8. ‘The Board’ chose to sleep over the matter inasmuch as neither the payment was made nor it took recourse to the legal remedy available to it under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (henceforth for short ‘the Act’). The sole respondent in the meantime preferred Execution Case No. 244 of 2021 (M/s Enarch Company Private Limited vs. Bihar Housing Board & ors.).

9. ‘The Board’ finally came out of deep slumber and preferred Misc. (Arbitration) Case No. 16 of 2023 (Bihar State Housing Board & ors. vs. M/s Enarch Consultants Private Limited) before the learned District Judge, Patna.

10. The Court took note of the fact that Section 34(3) of ‘the Act’ mandates an award to be challenged within a period of three months with an additional period of 30 days if the Court is satisfied with the reasons assigned for the delay and not thereafter. It further recorded that there is a delay of 472 days in filing the present case by ‘the Board’and in that background, no relief can be extended.

11. The Misc. (Arbitration) Case No. 16 of 2023 came to be dismissed on 20.09.2024. The relevant paragraphs 10 and 11 read as follows:

10. In the present case, there