Alerts & Updates 30th Oct 2019
This week, we bring to you the decision of the Supreme Court in Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. v. M/s Tejparas Associates & Exports Pvt. Ltd. Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. (Appellant) filed an application to set aside an arbitral award (Application) under section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (the Act) before a court without jurisdiction i.e. Ld. District Judge, Jaipur (Jaipur Court). In exercise of its powers under Order 7 Rule 10 and Rule 10 A of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC), the Jaipur Court returned the Application to the Appellant with an express direction that the Appellant shall re-present the Application before the courts having jurisdiction i.e. Ld. District Judge, Jodhpur (Jodhpur Court), on 2 April 2008.
On 10 April 2008, the Appellant re-presented the application before the Jodhpur Court after the expiry of the period of limitation to file an application under section 34 of the Act. It is relevant to note that the original Application was filed before the Jaipur Court within the time period stipulated under section 34 (3) of the Act.
In this backdrop, the issue which arose for consideration before the Supreme Court was whether the time period spent in a court without jurisdiction can be excluded when the application under section 34 of the Act is re-presented in a court having jurisdiction. Relying upon Simplex Infrastructure Ltd. v. Union of India, (2019) 2 SCC 455, the Supreme Court concluded that section 14 of the Limitation Act applies to applications under section 34 of the Act. The Supreme Court recognized that the time period spent in a court without jurisdiction can be excluded when the application under section 34 of the Act is re-presented in the court having jurisdiction only if the proceeding was bona fide in the court without jurisdiction.
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