Full Text
HIGH COURT OF DELHI
Date of Decision: 31.01.2023
UNION OF INDIA ..... Appellant
Through: Ms Monika Arora, CGSC.
Through: Mr Praveen Chauhan, Advocate with Mr Aakash Dubey, Advocate.
HON'BLE MS JUSTICE TARA VITASTA GANJU [Physical Hearing/Hybrid Hearing (as per request)]
TARA VITASTA GANJU, J.:
JUDGMENT
1. The present Appeal has been filed impugning the judgment dated 10.05.2018 passed by the learned Single Judge [hereinafter referred to as, “Impugned Judgment”] which dismissed a challenge to Arbitral Award dated 28.12.2016 [hereinafter referred to as, “the Award”] made by the Appellant herein. 1.[1] There is a delay of 317 days in filing the Appeal.
2. This Court had on 03.11.2022, briefly heard the matter and passed the following directions:
3. Today, Ms Monika Arora, CGSC who appears on behalf of the Appellant, has handed over a hard copy of the order dated 17.01.2020 passed in the Review Petition [i.e., Review Petition No. 244/2017]. 3.[1] Mr Praveen Chauhan, who appears on behalf of the Respondent, has also handed over a hard copy of the Review Petition as filed before the Learned Single Judge and submitted that the legal grounds as taken in the present Appeal and the Review Petition are substantially the same. Learned counsel for the Respondent submits that the Learned Single Judge has dismissed the Review Petition on merits as well as for delay in its filing – a delay of 439 days. Learned counsel for the Appellant fairly concedes this position to be correct.
4. As can be seen from our order dated 03.11.2022, an opportunity was granted to the Appellant to file an application for amending the Appeal, to assail the order dated 17.01.2020 passed in the Review Petition. Ms Arora had also indicated that she would also be filing an appropriate application for condoning this delay as well. At the request of Ms Arora, the matter was directed to be listed on 08.12.2022. On that day, an accommodation was sought on behalf of Ms Arora as she could not appear in the matter. 4.[1] In these circumstances, we had posted the matter today while noting that an Application seeking amendment of the Appeal along with an Application for condonation of delay had not been filed as yet.
5. The position today is no different, neither has any Application seeking amendment of the Appeal been filed, nor has an appropriate Application for condonation of delay in seeking an amendment been placed on record by the Appellant.
6. Appeals under the provision of Section 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 are required to be filed within a period of 60 days in terms of the provisions of Section 13(1A) of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 [hereinafter referred to as, “Commercial Courts Act”]. This period of 60 days would have expired on 09.07.2018. 6.[1] A perusal of the record of the Court shows that the Appeal was initially filed on 22.05.2019. The Appeal was thereafter re-filed on 24.07.2019 and listed for hearing for the first time on 29.07.2019. Thus, the re-filing and listing itself took more than 60 days by Appellant.
7. The explanation as inter-alia provided by the Appellant in its Application filed under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 is that the delay of 317 days was inter-alia occasioned due to governmental procedures and concurrence required by a number of authorities to challenge the Impugned Judgment.
8. The expeditious disposal of Arbitral proceedings and proceedings filed under the Commercial Courts Act is requisite and mandated by law. 8.[1] Since the Impugned Judgment was passed on 10.05.2018, a total number of 377 days had elapsed before filing of the present Appeal. Explanations which set out bureaucratic processes and the pursuing of other remedies cannot be accepted as a ground for condoning such a long period of delay. The application for condonation of delay is accordingly rejected.
9. Since we have dismissed the Application for condonation of delay, the Appeal cannot be sustained.
10. Resultantly, the Appeal and all pending Applications are dismissed.
11. The Registry is directed to release the balance amount which is available with it, that was deposited by the Appellant during the pendency of the Appeal along with the interest accrued thereon to the Respondent.
12. For this purpose, counsel for the parties will appear before the concerned Registrar on 22.02.2023.
(TARA VITASTA GANJU) JUDGE (RAJIV SHAKDHER)
JUDGE JANUARY 31, 2023/ SA/r