Arbitral award challenges must be filed on time

While filing a petition to set aside an arbitral award, it is imperative to adhere to the time limits set out in the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. This was highlighted in a recent judgment of the Calcutta High Court in the case of State of West Bengal v Afcons Infrastructure Ltd.

Late petition

The state of West Bengal filed a petition to set aside the arbitral award. The period of 90 days for filing the petition, as stipulated under section 34(3) of the Arbitration Act, expired on 14 June 2007.

However, the petition was filed in the trial court on 19 June 2007. As the application was filed within the period of one month after the expiry of 90 days from the date of the award, the trial court granted liberty to the petitioner to file an application seeking condonation of delay for the period between the time when 90 days expired (14 June) and the date when the petition was filed (19 June).

Krrishan Singhania is the managing partner and Ranbir Krishan is an attorney at Singhania & Co, a Mumbai-based law firm. Singhania has 20 years of experience in some of the firm’s core practice areas, which include arbitration, litigation and dispute resolution, aviation, and intellectual property.