Punjab National Bank v. Axis Bank Ltd.

$~71 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + O.M.P.(MISC.)(COMM.) 946/2025 PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK .....Petitioner Through:

Mr. Anant Upadhyay, Adv.

versus AXIS BANK LTD.

.....Respondent Through:

Mr. Siddharth Nath, Mr. Anunay Chowdhary and Mr. Aajad Hussain, Advs.

CORAM:

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SUBRAMONIUM PRASAD

O R D E R

% 01.12.2025 1.

The present petition under Section 29A (4) & (5) 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 Justice (Retd.) Shiavax Vazifdar, former Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court was appointed as an Arbitral Tribunal by this Court on 12.03.2021. The last of the mandate of the Arbitral Tribunal has been extended by this Court till 09.11.2025. The mandate of the Arbitral Tribunal has expired on 09.11.2025, and therefore, the present petition has been filed for extending the mandate of the Arbitral Tribunal.

3.

It is stated that the arbitration proceedings is at the stage of final arguments.

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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 regularize the period from 09.11.2025 till today and extend the mandate of the Arbitral Tribunal till 30.06.2026, so that the award can be pronounced. 6.

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

SUBRAMONIUM PRASAD, J DECEMBER 01, 2025 Prateek 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 05/12/2025 at 12:06:48