Gail (India) Limited v. M/S Rathi Steel And Power Ltd

$~32 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + O.M.P.(MISC.)(COMM.) 144/2025 GAIL (INDIA) LIMITED .....Petitioner Through:

Mr. Sonal Kumar Singh, Mr. Ratik Sharma, Mr. Pratap Raj Tiwari, Advs.

versus M/S RATHI STEEL AND POWER LTD .....Respondent Through:

Mr. Anand Shankar Jha, Mr. Parvez Rahman, Ms. Meenakshi S. Devgan, Advs.

CORAM:

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SUBRAMONIUM PRASAD

O R D E R

% 14.02.2025 I.A. 3832/2025 (Exemption) Allowed, subject to all just exceptions.

O.M.P.(MISC.)(COMM.) 144/2025 1.

This Petition under Section 29A of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 has been filed by the Petitioner for extending the mandate of the Arbitral Tribunal.

2.

Material on record indicates that the Arbitral Tribunal was constituted by this Court vide Order dated 16.02.2022 in a petition being ARB.P. 597/ 2021 filed by the Petitioner. The list of dates indicates that the Arbitral Tribunal entered reference and pleadings stood completed on 19.11.2022. It is stated that pursuant to that, the parties are trying to settle their disputes through conciliation. It is stated that conciliation proceedings are still going 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 19/02/2025 at 12:08:53

on. It is stated that the mandate of the Arbitral Tribunal has expired on 02.10.2024.

3.

Learned Counsel appearing for the Respondent states that he has no objection if the mandate of the Arbitral Tribunal is extended. 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 facts of the present case, this Court is inclined to extend the mandate of the Arbitral Tribunal till 31.12.2025, so that the award can be pronounced. The period from 02.10.2024 till today is regularized. 6.

The Petition is disposed of, along with the pending applications, if any.

SUBRAMONIUM PRASAD, J FEBRUARY 14, 2025 S. Zakir 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 19/02/2025 at 12:08:53