The main legal point established in the judgment is that the limitation period for challenging an award under Section 34(3) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act is strict and cannot be extended beyond the additional 30 days, as prescribed by the Act.

JUDGMENT :

Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J.

This appeal is directed against judgment and order dated 10.2.2021, passed by Commercial Court, Dehradun in Miscellaneous Case No. 42 of 2020. By the said judgment, application filed by the appellants under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (for short, “the Act”) was dismissed on the ground of delay.

2. It is not in dispute that the appellant had earlier filed application under Section 34 of the Act before District Judge, New Tehri challenging the award dated 28/30.5.2018, which was dismissed as not pressed on 3.7.2019. Subsequently, appellants filed application before District Judge, New Tehri seeking restoration of the application under Section 34 of the Act; in the meantime, Commercial Court was established at Dehradun and the application seeking restoration of proceedings under Section 34 of the Act was transferred to Commercial Court, Dehradun; Commercial Court, Dehradun rejected the said application vide order dated 12.12.2019 and the said order was challenged by the appellants in Appeal from Order No. 42 of 2020, which was disposed of by Division Bench of this Court vide order dated 18.2.2020. Para 7 and 8 of the said order are extracted below:

“7. At this stage, however, the learned counsel for the respondent Construction Company, very fairly submits that he has no objection if the State Government moves a fresh application for setting aside the award along with the delay condonation application before the Commercial Court at Dehradun.

8. In view thereof, and on consideration of the fact that the application for setting aside the award which has also been filed by the Construction Company is already pending before the court below, we dispose the present appeal with a direction to the State Government/appellant to move a fresh application before the Commercial Court at Dehradun, which shall be considered by the court in the light of our above observation.”

3. In terms of the liberty granted by Division Bench of this Court in A.O. No. 42 of 2020, appellants moved fresh application under Section 34 of the Act before the Commercial Court, Dehradun, which was registered as Miscellaneous Case No. 42 of 2020. Learned Commercial Court dismissed the said application on the ground of delay vide order dated 10.2.2021, which is under challenge in this appeal.

4. Learned Commercial Court considered and discussed the matter in great detail. Perusal of para 12 of the impugned order reveals that learned Commercial Court has factored in the time spent by the appellant while pursuing the remedy before the District Judge, Tehri Garhwal and held that even if the time spent before District Judge, Tehri Garhwal is excluded, then also the application filed by the appellant is beyond time.

5. In our considered opinion, the view taken by the learned Commercial Court cannot be faulted. Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 is a self contained code. Section 34(3) of the Act, which prescribes the period of limitation for challenging an award under Section 34 of the Act, reads as under:

“34. Application for setting aside arbitral award.—

(1)……

(2)…..

(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.”

6. Thus, from perusal of provision contained under Section 34(3) of the Act, it is quite apparent that the period of limitation prescribed for challenging an award is three months, which can be extended in appropriate cases for a further period of 30 days. The expression “but not thereafter” in the proviso