IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH CR-984-2026(O&M)

Date of Decision: 12.02.2026 NATIONAL HIGHWAY AUTHORITY OF INDIA AND ANOTHER ....Petitioner(s)

Versus ARBITRATOR CUM COMMISSIONER, PATIALA DIVISION, PATIALA AND OTHERS .....Respondent(s)

CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE JASGURPREET SINGH PURI Present: Mr. Chetan Mittal, Senior Advocate with Mr.D.K. Singal, Advocate, for petitioner No.1.

Mr. Satya Pal Jain, Additional Solicitor General of India with Mr. Prajwal Chauhan, Central Govt. Counsel, for petitioner No.2.

Mr. Karan Gupta, Advocate and Mr. Ashu Sharma, Advocate, for respondent No.3.

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JASGURPREET SINGH PURI , J. (Oral)

1. The present revision petition has been filed by the National Highways Authority of India challenging the order passed by learned Arbitrator-cum-Commissioner, Patiala Division, Patiala, dated 02.01.2026 vide Annexure P-3, whereby the parties have been directed to file the evidence well before the next date of hearing.

2. The present revision petition has been filed on the ground that by way of the impugned order, the learned Arbitrator could not have passed the impugned order because the statutory period has already expired.

However, on the other hand, there is an order dated 24.12.2025 passed by a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in CWP-1554-2025, titled as “Harinder Singh and others versus Union of India and others, whereby specific directions have been issued by the Coordinate Bench of this Court with regard to the grant of time for various batch of cases, which are pending before different Arbitrators across the States of Punjab and Haryana. The aforesaid directions are reproduced as under:-

“i. All pending arbitration cases up to the year 2020 shall be disposed of on or before 28.02.2026.

ii. Cases instituted during the years 2021 to 2023 shall be disposed of within the next three months, i.e. by 30.06.2026.

iii. Cases instituted during the year 2024 shall be disposed of within a further period of six months, i.e. positively by

31.12.2026.

iv. Cases instituted during the years 2025, endeavour shall also be disposed of such cases by 31.12.2026. However, said period may be further extended by another six months and cases shall be disposed of positively by 30.06.2027.

v. As far as freshly instituted cases are concerned, the Arbitrators shall endeavour to decide the same expeditiously; however, they shall be at liberty to decide such cases within the statutory period of one year, as recording of pleadings and evidence is required and any undue haste may give rise to avoidable legal complications.”

3. At the outset, Mr. Chetan Mittal, learned Senior Counsel for the petitioner with Mr. D.K. Singal, learned counsel submitted that it was a bona fide mistake on the part of the petitioner to have filed the present revision petition, particularly in view of the fact that the aforesaid directions which were issued by a Coordinate Bench of this Court, which have since attained finality, were on the basis of the proposals and suggestions made by the National Highways Authority of India itself which was represented before the Coordinate Bench of this Court and in order to eradicate the difficulties with regard to extinguishment of the time factor, the suggestions of the National Highways Authority of India in the aforesaid writ petition were accepted by the Coordinate Bench and therefore, directions were issued which were rather binding upon the National Highways Authority of India and in view of the same, it was not proper for National Highways Authority of India to have filed the present revision petition and filing of the present revision petition is nothing but an inadvertent mistake on the part of the National Highways Authority of India, for which the Project Director of the National Highways Authority of India, who is present in the Court, has tendered unconditional apology before this Court. Learned Senior Counsel submitted that he may be permitted to withdraw the present revision petition. 4. However, th