Deciding Authority: Supreme Court of India
Date of Judgement: 6th February, 2003
Bench: R.C. Lahoti, Brijesh Kumar & Arijit Pasayat.
Facts of the Case: The respondent-International Security and Intelligence Agency Ltd. entered into a contract with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi whereby the former undertook to provide security services etc. to the latter. The agreement contained an arbitration clause obligating the parties to have the disputes arising between them and referable to the contract determined by reference to arbitration under the provisions of the Arbitration Act, 1940, hereinafter ’the Act’, for short.
Disputes arose between the parties and on a petition under Section 8 of the Act filed by the respondents, the Court directed the same to be determined through arbitration by a retired Judge of the High Court. The order of the Court appointing the arbitrator and referring the disputes for determination by him achieved a finality as the appellants did not file any appeal thereagainst and both the parties submitted to the jurisdiction of the arbitrator. On 14.3.1997, the arbitrator gave an award. The award is a non speaking one. The arbitration agreement between the parties does not require the arbitrator to make a reasoned award. The respondents filed an application under Section 14 of the Act for making the award a rule of the Court. On 26.5.1997, objections were filed by the appellants seeking setting aside of the award. Though the objection petition is styled as one under Sections 30 and 33 (both) of the Act, a perusal of the contents of the objection petition shows that all the objections raised therein fall within the scope of Section 30 of the Act. During the pendency of the hearing on the said objection petition, on 20.1.2000 the appellants filed another objection petition styled as one under Section 33 of the Act wherein for the first time a plea was raised that so far as the respondents company is concerned it was not a party to the contract and therefore appointment of arbitrator at its instance and all the subsequent proceedings upto the date of making of the award were without jurisdiction and nullity and were liable to be adjudged so. By judgment dated 17.1.2001, the Court directed the objection raised on behalf of the appellants to be dismissed and the award to be made a rule of the Court. A decree in terms of the award as upheld by the judgment was later drawn up and dated as 17.1.2001
Judgement of the Case: The Supreme Court held that The original appeal filed by the respondents herein was found to be not maintainable as not covered by any of the clauses (i) to (vi) of sub-Section (1) of Section 39 of the Act. It was dismissed as incompetent. The question of the memo of appeal filed in the High Court by the appellants herein being treated as cross objection and being taken up for hearing on merits does not arise. Independently treated as an original appeal the same was held to be hopelessly barred by time as the delay was not explained satisfactorily. On this aspect we are not persuaded to take a view different from the one taken by the High Court. The appeal filed in the High court by the appellants herein has been rightly held liable to be dismissed as time-barred and is not available to be heard and decided as cross objection in view of the original appeal filed in the High Court by the respondents herein having failed as incompetent. The appeals are dismissed. Costs easy.
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