OM DEVELOPERS Vs. BERNARDINE MOUAD HERIQUE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The challenge in this Petition filed under Sec. 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 ( the Act ), is to an interim order passed under Sec. 17 dated March 6, 2025 passed by a Learned Arbitral Tribunal.

(2.) By the said order, the Learned Arbitral Tribunal was pleased to direct certain interlocutory arrangements, specifically in the form of a deposit of Rs.1.33 crores by a Demand Draft, to be kept with the Advocate for the Claimant, who would act as an escrow agent and hold the same subject to the outcome of the arbitral proceedings.

(3.) By an order dated February 23, 2025 ( Sec. 16 Order ), the Learned Arbitral Tribunal had also been pleased to reject an Application under Sec. 16, which was fundamentally founded on the claim being barred by limitation. The grounds on which the Sec. 17 order is assailed are essentially dependent on the plea of limitation which was pressed into service and was rejected in the Sec. 16 order.