Nalini Bhandari v. Talwinder Singh Bhatia

$~50 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + O.M.P.(MISC.)(COMM.) 142/2025 NALINI BHANDARI .....Petitioner Through:

Mr. Sanyam Khetarpal, Mr. Nitesh Goyal, Ms. Prakriti Anand , Ms. Lisa Sankrit, Advs.

versus TALWINDER SINGH BHATIA .....Respondent Through:

CORAM:

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SUBRAMONIUM PRASAD

O R D E R

% 12.02.2025 I.A. 3672/2025 (Exemption) Allowed, subject to all just exceptions.

O.M.P.(MISC.)(COMM.) 142/2025 1.

This is a petition under Section 29A (4) & (5) of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 seeking extension of mandate of the Arbitral Tribunal for making the arbitral award.

2.

Material on record discloses that vide Order dated 24.03.2021 this Court appointed Hon'ble Ms. Justice Gita Mittal (Retd.) as the Sole Arbitrator to adjudicate on the disputes between the parties. By mutual consent, the mandate of the Tribunal was extended till 28.08.2023. It is stated that this Court vide Order dated 20.10.2023 extended the mandate of the Tribunal by one year, i.e. till 20.10.2024. It is stated that the matter is at The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 18/02/2025 at 11:12:25

the stage of final hearing. The Petitioner has, therefore, approached this Court for extension of time for making the award. 3.

The Respondent has no objection in extending the mandate of the learned Arbitrator.

4.

The Apex Court in Rohan Builders (India) Private Limited v. Berger Paints India Limited, 2024 SCC OnLine SC 2494, has held that an application for extension of the time period for passing an arbitral award under Section 29A(4) read with Section 29A(5) is maintainable even after the expiry of the twelve-month or the extended six-month period, as the case may be.

5.

In view of the fact that the matter is at the advance stage, this Court is inclined to extend the mandate of the Arbitral Tribunal till 30.04.2025 with effect from 21.10.2024 so that the Award can be pronounced and no further extension of time would be required by the Tribunal. 6.

The petition is disposed of along with the pending applications, if any. SUBRAMONIUM PRASAD, J FEBRUARY 12, 2025 Rahul The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 18/02/2025 at 11:12:25