JUDGMENT :

1. Heard Sri Manish Goyal, learned Senior Advocate, assisted by Ms. Sushmita Mukherjee, learned counsel for the applicant and Sri Anil Tiwari, learned Senior Advocate assisted by Sri Dharmendra Shukla, Advocate for the opposite party.

2. This is an application under Section 29A of Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act") for extending the mandate of Substitute Sole Arbitrator on the expiry of time limit for publication of the award.

3. Brief history of the case is necessary for better appreciation, which is as under :

4. The respondent had entered into a contract with the applicant on 05.11.1998 for executing work of Rs.10,68,596/-. The work was to be completed by 05.03.1999. As the respondent failed to complete the work within the time fixed, he was required to submit final bill, which according to applicant, he failed to do so. On 20.10.2004, respondent invoked the arbitration clause. He filed an application under Section 11 of the Act on 18.12.2005, which was numbered as C.M.A.A. No.20 of 2005. On 03.11.2014, the application was allowed and one Mr. Justice Sheetla Prasad Srivastava, a former Judge of this Court, was appointed as Sole A