The court upheld the arbitral award, stating that the vendor's failure to comply with compulsory requirements justified the purchaser's non-payment of the sale consideration, and the awarded damages were a genuine pre-estimate of loss.

JUDGMENT

[Statutory provisions have been reproduced in footnotes only to the extent they are relevant.]

1. Meera Goyal ("Meera" hereinafter) challenges, in this petition under Section 34[1] of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 ("the 1996 Act"), award dated 8 May 2020 passed by the learned Sole Arbitrator in an arbitration instituted against Meera by the respondent Priti Saraf ("Priti" hereinafter).

[1]34. Application for setting aside arbitral award. -

(1) Recourse to a Court against an arbitral award may be made only by an application for setting aside such award in accordance with sub-section (2) and sub-section (3).

(2) An arbitral award may be set aside by the Court only if-

(a) the party making the application 45[establishes on the basis of the record of the arbitral tribunal that -

(i) a party was under some incapacity; or

(ii) the arbitration agreement is not valid under the law to which the parties have subjected it or, failing any indication thereon, under the law for the time being in force; or

(iii) the party making the application was not given proper notice of the appointment of an arbitrator or of the arbitral proceedings or was otherwise unable to present his case; or

(iv) the arbitral award deals with a dispute not contemplated by or not falling within the terms of the submission to arbitration, or it contains decisions on matters beyond the scope of the submission to arbitration: Provided that, if the decisions on matters submitted to arbitration can be separated from those not so submitted, only that part of the arbitral award which contains decisions on matters not submitted to arbitration may be set aside; or

(v) the composition of the arbitral tribunal or the arbitral procedure was not in accordance with the agreement of the parties, unless such agreement was in conflict with a provision of this Part from which the parties cannot derogate, or, failing such agreement, was not in accordance with this Part; or

(b) the Court finds that-

(i) the subject-matter of the dispute is not capable of settlement by arbitration under the law for the time being in force, or

(ii) the arbitral award is in conflict with the public policy of India. Explanation 1. - For the avoidance of any doubt, it is clarified that an award is in conflict with the public policy of India, only if, -

(i) the making of the award was induced or affected by fraud or corruption or was in violation of Section 75 or Section 81; or

(ii) it is in contravention with the fundamental policy of Indian law; or

(iii) it is in conflict with the most basic notions of morality or justice.

Explanation 2 -For the avoidance of doubt, the test as to whether there is a contravention with the fundamental policy of Indian law shall not entail a review on the merits of the dispute.

(2-A) An arbitral award arising out of arbitrations other than international commercial arbitrations, may also be set aside by the court, if the court finds that the award is vitiated by patent illegality appearing on the face of the award:

Provided that an award shall not be set aside merely on the ground of an erroneous application of the law or by re-appreciation of evidence.

(3) An application for setting aside may not be made after three months have elapsed from the date on which the party making that application had received the arbitral award or, if a request had been made under Section 33, from the date on which that request had been disposed of by the arbitral tribunal:

Provided that if the Court is satisfied that the applicant was prevented by sufficient cause from making the application within the said period of three months it may entertain the application within a further period of thirty days, but not thereafter.

2. The learned Arbitrator has awarded Priti Rs. 38 crores along with interest thereon, @ 9 % p.a. w.e.f., 30 January 2013 till realisation.

Facts

3. The dispute emanates from an Agreement to Sell (ATS) dated 24 December 2011 executed between Meera and Priti. By the said a