TRAXPO ENTERPRISES PRIVATE LIMITED Vs. PEC LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) M/s Traxpo Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. (hereafter referred to as 'TEPL') has filed the present petition under section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (hereafter 'the Act') inter alia praying that the arbitral award dated 20.10.2015 (hereafter 'the impugned award') passed by the sole arbitrator, be set aside.

(2.) The impugned award was rendered in the context of the disputes raised by the respondent, P.E.C. Limited (hereafter 'PECL'), in connection with the agreements dated 05.03.2007, 23.10.2007 and 24.12.2007.

(3.) TEPL claims that it had received the impugned award on 02.11.2015 and thereafter, filed the present petition on 02.02.2016; that is, on the last day of the period of limitation, as specified in Section 34(3) of the Act. However, the said petition was defective and TEPL took a considerable time to cure the defects. The petition was finally re-filed on 17.05.2016, which is approximately three and a half months after the petition was initially filed and about six and a half months after TEPL had received a copy of the impugned award. The time taken to re-file the petition alone exceeds the time available under Section 34(3) of the Act to file a petition to set aside the award.