UNITED BUILDERS Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN an application u/s 20 of the Arbitration Act made by the petitioner, the court vide its order dated 28 -11 -1975 appointed one Lt. Col. S. S. Bawa as an Arbitrator to settle the disputes between the parties and submit his award in the court within the time fixed in the order. The time originally fixed by the court for making the award was however, extended and the Arbitrator finally passed his award on 5th of August, 1976. On receiving a copy of the award from the Arbitrator, the petitioner again approached the court on 17th of August, 1976 with an application u/s 14 of the Arbitration Act wherein he prayed that the Arbitrator be asked to file the original award in the court alongwith other concerned documents. No notice of this application was however, given to the respondent, Union of India On 31st August, 1975 the respondent also made an application u/s 14 of the Arbitration Act to the effect that the Arbitrator be directed to file his award in the court which he had passed and published on August 5, 1976. No order was passed by the court on this application. Both these applications were put up before the Deputy Registrar of the court on Sept: 9, 1976 in presence of counsel for the parties as also one S. Bikram Jit Singh, an employee of the respondent. The proceedings which took place before him on Sept 9, 1976 were recorded by the Deputy Registrar of the Court in the following words:

(2.) THE respondent filed its objection petition to the award u/s 30 and 33 of the Arbitration Act on Oct: 5, 1976 challenging therein the validity of the award on a variety of grounds, The court also permitted the petitioner to file its objections to the aforesaid objection petition. One of the objections taken was that the objection petition filed by the respondent was time barred. The court vide its order dated Nov. 4, 1976 framed a number of issues out, of which Issue No. 1 which was treated as a preliminary issue ran thus: "Whether the applications for setting aside the award and objections to the award are barred by Time? O.P.P.

(3.) THE learned counsel for the parties declined to lead any evidence on this issue. It is in these circumstances that I am called upon to decide this issue.