Delhi High Court: Suo Moto Limitation Extension By Supreme Court; Remaining Limitation Days From 15.03.2020 Would Be Available From 01.03.2022

Delhi High Court: Suo Moto Limitation Extension By Supreme Court; Remaining Limitation Days From 15.03.2020 Would Be Available From 01.03.2022

The Delhi High Court has ruled that the remaining days of limitation, which were accessible to a party on March 15, 2020, would now be accessible starting from March 1, 2022, marking the conclusion of the Suo Moto Extension granted by the Supreme Court.

Justice Prathibha M. Singh determined that a petition filed under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act would not be considered time-barred if it was submitted within the remaining period of limitation computed from March 1, 2022.

The parties executed an agreement on September 16, 2015, which stipulated arbitration as the method for resolving disputes.

A disagreement emerged between the parties concerning an outstanding sum of Rs. 12,36,134.58/- owed to the petitioner. Consequently, the petitioner dispatched a demand notice dated June 24, 2020, followed by the issuance of an arbitration notice on September 17, 2020.

After the parties failed to agree on the appointment of an arbitrator, the petitioner submitted a petition under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act.

The respondents contested the petition's admissibility, arguing that the claims are time-barred as the petition was filed over three years after the arbitration was invoked.

The court noted that the Supreme Court, in Re: Cognizance for Extension of Limitation [Suo Moto Writ Petition (C) No. 3 of 2020], had excluded the period from 15.03.2020 to 28.02.2022 from the limitation period. Additionally, the Supreme Court's ruling in M/s Arif Azim Co. Ltd. v. M/s Aptech Ltd. (2024 INSC 155) established that the remaining balance of limitation as of 15.03.2020 would be available from 01.03.2022.

The Court determined that the remaining days of limitation, which were accessible to a party on 15.03.2020, would be reinstated starting on 01.03.2022, the day when the Supreme Court's Suo Moto Extension concluded.

The Court ruled that the claim/petition is not time-barred if the remaining period of limitation is added to the calculation period starting on 01.03.2022. Consequently, the Court dismissed the objection to the petition's maintainability.