Under Section 9(2) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, failure to initiate arbitration proceedings within the statutory period can lead to the vacating of interim orders issued by the court.

JUDGMENT

Navin Chawla, J. (Oral)--These two appeals filed under Section 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (hereinafter referred to as the `Act') challenge the interim orders dated 08.06.2020 and 23.10.2020 passed by the learned Single Judge of this Court in the petition filed by the respondent under Section 9 of the Act being OMP (I) (COMM) 112/2020.

2. By the Impugned Order dated 08.06.2020, the learned Single Judge was pleased to allow the application being I.A. No. 4291/2020 filed by the respondent and restrained the appellant from taking any precipitate steps or alter the status of the aircraft/create any third party right or interest in the aircraft or its parts, till the pronouncement of the judgment in the main petition, that is, OMP (I) (COMM) 112/2020.

3. The appellant challenged the order dated 08.06.2020 by way of FAO (OS) (COMM) 124/2020 inter alia contending that the respondent had failed to initiate arbitral proceedings within the statutory period as stipulated in Section 9(2) of the Act. This Court vide its order dated 12.10.2020 passed the following interim order with the consent of the parties:

"After some arguments, with the consent of the parties, the interim order dated 08th June, 2020 stands modified/varied as under:

(i) The appellant shall furnish a list of inventory as of date to the learned counsel for the respondent within a week.

(ii) The first appellant is permitted to dismantle and shift the landing gears and other accessories from the facility of M/s GMR Air Cargo and Aerospace Engineering Limited (GMR) at Hyderabad to the warehouse of GMR where other parts of the aircraft are already stocked and stored.

(iii) The first appellant shall be entitled to donate the bare shell of the aircraft without any accessories and landing gears to the National Institute of Technology, Warangal. Proof of such donation shall be placed on record before this Court within one week from the date of delivery to the National Institute of Technology, Warangal.

(iv) The first appellant is permitted to sell the landing gears and other spare parts and raise an amount of Rs.4,30,00,000/- (Rupees Four Crores Thirty Lakhs only). Immediately, on receipt of sale proceeds of landing gears and other spare parts, the appellant shall ensure that Rs.4,30,00,000/- (Rupees Four Crores Thirty Lakhs only) is deposited with the Registry of this Court.

(v) Only upon deposit of Rs.4,30,00,000/- (Rupees Four Crores Thirty Lakhs only) with the Registry of this Court, the appellant shall be permitted to take away or sell other spare parts or appropriate the surplus sale proceeds for its use.

(vi) The aforesaid arrangement shall be subject to OMP (I) (COMM) No.112/2020.

(vii) CCP (O)No. 16/2020 shall stand dismissed as withdrawn in view of the consensual order passed today.

(viii) In the event, the consensual arrangement is not abided by the appellant, it shall be open to the respondent to seek revival of the contempt proceedings."

4. The learned Single Judge thereafter passed the Impugned Order dated 23.10.2020 directing that the amount of Rs.4,30,00,000/- deposited by the appellant pursuant to the order dated 12.10.2020 of the Division Bench, should remain deposited with the Registry of this Court subject to the final award, if any, to be rendered in the arbitral proceedings between the parties. It is this order which is in challenge in FAO (OS) (COMM) 154/2020.

5. The appellant, by way of CM No. 44630/2021 has produced before this Court a copy of the Arbitral Award dated 03.11.2021 passed by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (hereinafter referred to as the `SIAC') in SIAC Arbitration No