M C D Vs. G D BUILDERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A common question of law arises for consideration in all these applications seeking condonation of delay in the filing of the petitions under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The factual backdrop, which too is common to all the cases may be summarised thus :

(2.) The awards made by the arbitrators in all these cases were received on behalf of the petitioner Municipal Corporation of Delhi (hereafter referred to as 'the Corporation') on 15th July, 2003. An application under Section 34 of the Act aforementioned was filed by the Corporation in each one of the cases on 15th November, 2003. Since the petitions were admittedly beyond the period of three months reckoned from the 15th July, 2003, the petitioner filed applications seeking condonation of the delay in the filing of the petitions under sub-section 3 of Section 34 of the Act. The petitioner's case in these applications which are accompanied by affidavits of the Executive Engineer of the Corporation is that there has been a delay in the filing of the petitions under Section 34 on account of the time taken in processing the files and completing departmental formalities. Since this delay is, according to the petitioner Corporation, bonafide and unintentional, the same deserves to be condoned. The respondent has opposed the prayer for condonation primarily on the ground that the delay in the filing of the petitions is beyond the condonable limits prescribed under the proviso to Section 34 (3) of the Act.

(3.) Appearing for the petitioner Mr. A.K. Trivedi, Advocate argued that the petitions filed on 15th November, 2003 were within the period of three months and 30 days prescribed under Section 34 (3) of the Act. The delay in the filing of the petition was, therefore, condonable especially when the same had been occasioned because of the time taken in processing the file at various levels. On behalf of the respondent, it was, on the other hand, argued that there was a delay of 31 days beyond the period of three months prescribed under Section 34 (3) of the Act. The power of the court to condone the delay in the filing of the petitions being limited to only 30 days beyond the stipulated period of three months, the same could not be condoned.