Skip to main content

Limitation on amendment of Statement of Claim in Arbitration

In O.M.P. (COMM) 31/2017 & I.A. 13479/2018, M/S CINEVISTAAS LTD. vs M/S PRASAR BHARTI, the Delhi High Court has held that claims which are raised at the time of invoking arbitration but are not part of Statement of Claim, are not time-barred by limitation.

The Petitioner had undertaken production of a game show titled ‘Knock Out’. After negotiations, the Respondent approved telecast of 52 episodes of the programme and the final telecast date was decided as January 28, 2001. Subsequently, television promos were aired and advertisements were also published. However, on December 27, 2000, the Respondent informed the Petitioner that the show would not be aired.

The Petitioner then sought appointment of an independent Arbitrator by filing a Section 11 petition to resolve the dispute and in May, 2004, an Arbitrator was appointed.

While the arbitral proceedings were pending, the Petitioner realised that there were substantial errors in the quantification and details of two claims. It, therefore, moved an application seeking permission to correct the said claims.

The application was dismissed in August 2009. The Arbitrator held that the changes sought to be made constituted ‘additional claims’. Since the notice invoking arbitration was issued in November 2003 and the incorporation of these additional claims was being sought in 2008, the application was barred by limitation.

The Delhi High Court held that the law relating to amendments is very clear i.e., that the Court has to be very liberal while considering amendments. This would equally apply to arbitral proceedings, which are not bound by the strict provisions of CPC and that after having noticed the fact that the additional claims now raised, were contained in the invocation letter, as also in the Section 11 petition, there was no reason why the same ought not to have been allowed.

The Court then referring to the judgment of the Supreme Court in Shah Babulal Khimji v. Jayaben D. Kania & Anr. (1981) 4 SCC 8, decided that the order of the Ld. Arbitrator clearly has a finality attached to it, in respect of the additional claims, and is, thus, held to be an award, against which a Section 34 petition is maintainable. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Most viewed this month

Court approached in the early stages of arbitration will prevail in all other subsequent proceedings

In National Highway Authority of India v. Hindustan Steelworks Construction Limited, the Hon'ble Delhi High Court opined that once the parties have approached a certain court for relief under Act at earlier stages of disputes then it is same court that, parties must return to for all other subsequent proceedings. Language of Section 42 of Act is categorical and brooks no exception. In fact, the language used has the effect of jurisdiction of all courts since it states that once an application has been made in Part I of the Act then ―that Court alone shall have jurisdiction over arbitral proceedings and all subsequent applications arising out of that agreement and arbitral proceedings shall be made in that Court and in no other Court. Court holds that NHAI in present case cannot take advantage of Section 14 of the Limitation Act, 1963 for explaining inordinate delay in filing present petition under Section 34 of this Act in this Court.
Post a Comment
Read more

No Rebate For Stamp Duty Paid In Another State - Bombay HC

A three judge bench of the Hon'ble Bombay High Court (Bombay HC) in a recent judgment in the matter of Chief Controlling Revenue Authority, Maharashtra State, Pune and Superintendent of Stamp (Headquarters), Mumbai v Reliance Industries Limited, Mumbai and Reliance Petroleum Limited, Gujarat1 has held that orders in case of a scheme of arrangement under Section 391 to 394 of the Companies Act, 1956 (Act) involving different High Courts in multiple states, are separate instruments in themselves. Accordingly, stamp duty would be payable on all the orders (and consequently, all the states) without the benefit of remission, rebate or set-off.
Post a Comment
Read more

The recovery of vehicles by the financier not an offence - SC

Special Leave Petition (Crl.) No. 8907  of 2009 Anup Sarmah (Petitioner) Vs Bhola Nath Sharma & Ors.(Respondents) The petitioner submitted that  respondents-financer had forcibly taken away the vehicle financed by them and  illegally deprived the petitioner from its lawful possession  and  thus,  committed  a crime. The complaint filed by the petitioner had been  entertained  by  the Judicial Magistrate (Ist Class), Gauhati (Assam) in Complaint Case  No.  608 of 2009, even directing the interim custody of the vehicle (Maruti  Zen)  be given to the petitioner vide order dated  17.3.2009.  The respondent on approaching the Guwahati High  Court against this order, the hon'ble court squashed the criminal  proceedings  pending   before  the  learned Magistrate. After hearing both sides, the Hon'ble Supreme Court decided on 30th...
7 comments
Read more