P.C.

1. The Petitioner, by way of the present Interim Application, has sought the following reliefs, viz.

a. Order and declare that there is no delay in filing the Petition and take the Petition on record;

b. In the alternative to prayer clause (a) hereinabove, condone the delay of 530 days [calculated as of 18 June 2021] in filing the present Petition and take the Petition on record;

c. Grant interim/ad-interim relief in terms of prayers (a) and (b) above;

d. For such other and further reliefs as the case may require.

Brief Facts:

2. Disputes had arisen between the Petitioner and the Respondent under a Voyage Charterparty Agreement dated 10th May 2013, Clause 46 of which provided for an arbitration in London in accordance with English law.

3. Arbitral proceedings subsequently commenced between the Parties and culminated in an Arbitral Award dated 16th June 2015. The Tribunal, by the Arbitral Award, dismissed both the Petitioner’s claim and the Respondent’s counterclaim. The Tribunal, however, reserved its order of costs.

4. Thereafter, vide an Order dated 8th September 2015, the Tribunal directed the Respondent to bear 90% of the Petitioner’s costs of the arbitration. The Tribunal, however, left the quantification of the costs to be decided by the parties inter se. In the event that the parties were unable to agree on the quantification of such costs, the Tribunal would determine the costs.

5. As the parties were unable to reach an agreement on the quantification of costs, the Tribunal, vide an Award of Assessed Costs dated 31st October 2016 (“the said Award”), proceeded to quantify the costs. It is not in dispute that the said Award was not assailed and has attained finality.

6. The captioned Petition was then filed on 18th June 2021 under the provisions of Section 47 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 ("the Arbitration Act") and seeks enforcement of the said Award together with Interim Application No. 1321 of 2021 seeking condonation of delay (“the First Application”). However, the First Application was withdrawn with liberty to file a fresh application as recorded in the Order of this Court dated 17th December 2024.

7. The Petitioner, then pursuant to the aforesaid liberty, filed the present Interim Application seeking condonation of delay in the filing of the captioned Petition.

Submissions on behalf of Petitioner:

8. Mr. Bansal, Learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the Petitioner at the outset, submitted that the present Application was filed only out of abundant caution. He submitted that in view of the decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Government of India v. Vedanta Limited, (2020) 10 SCC 1., there was in fact no delay in the filing of the captioned Petition since the same has been filed within three years from the date on which the Petitioner had called upon the Respondent to make payment under the said Award.

9. Mr. Bansal then submitted that, prior to the decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Vedanta, there existed uncertainty in respect of the period of limitation applicable to the enforcement of a Foreign Award. This uncertainty was ultimately resolved by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Vedanta, in which it held that the period of limitation for filing an application for enforcement of a Foreign Award was governed by Article 137 of the Limitation Act, 1963, i.e., three years from the date on which the right to apply accrues. He was at pains to point out that in Vedanta the Hon’ble Supreme Court held that the right to apply accrued not on the date of the Award but from the date when the award-debtor issued a show-cause notice demanding payment. He pointed out that in Vedanta, although the Award was dated 18th January 2011, the Petition for enforcement was held to be within the limitation period on the basis that the Applicant in that case had issued a demand for payment on 10th July 2014, which was beyond three years from the