NAVODAYA ENTERPRISES Vs. TATA MOTORS FINANCE SOLUTION LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This application is for condonation of the delay of 25 days in filing the arbitration petition under Sec. 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 ('Arbitration Act'). It is the applicant's case that the award dtd. 4/8/2022 was received by the applicant on 10/9/2022. The three-month period provided under sub-sec. (3) of Sec. 34 expired on 10 th December 2022, and the further period of thirty days provided under the proviso expired on 9/1/2023. According to the applicant, the arbitration petition was filed on 5/1/2023, which is within the further thirty days provided under the proviso to sub-sec. (3) of Sec. 34 of the Arbitration Act.

(2.) Learned counsel for the applicant submits that from 1/1/2023, the filing of all arbitration petitions was made compulsory through the e-filing portal. Accordingly, the petition was filed on 5/1/2023 through the e-filing portal.

(3.) On 8/9/2025, due to technical issues, this court was unable to access the soft copies of the proceedings; hence, the physical hard copy of the petition and the applications were taken on record. On 21/11/2025, the parties were permitted to submit legible copies, as the pages of the e-filing history relied upon by the parties were illegible or overprinted with a stamp at the bottom of the pages. When the original notarised Interim Application (L) No. 3638 of 2025 was tendered in court, it was noted that the dates in the copy uploaded at the time of filing differed from those in the original notarised copy. The original notarised copy was neither signed by the advocate nor by the deponent. The original notarised copy of the application, without the signatures, was taken on record and marked 'X-1' for identification, and a photocopy of the uploaded PDF was taken on record and marked 'X-2' for identification. Accordingly, the learned Prothonotary and Senior Master was directed to make a necessary inquiry by calling for an explanation from the concerned notary.