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Informist, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026

 

NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court Tuesday ruled that courts can extend the mandate of arbitral tribunals even after the expiry of its statutory time and even after a tribunal delivered an arbitral award in that period. However, such an award is ineffective and unenforceable and the proceedings of the tribunal will start from where its mandate had expired, said the top court.

 

While considering the application for extension of the tribunal's mandate, the court will examine if there is sufficient cause for extending the time and in the process, it may impose such terms and conditions as the situation demands, said the bench of Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice Atul S. Chandurkar. The court will also take into account other factors such as reduction of the fee of the arbitrator and also impose costs on parties if the situation so demands, the bench added.

 

The court can also substitute the arbitrator, but this step will be exercised carefully, said the apex court. If the mandate is extended, the arbitral tribunal will pick up the thread from where it was left, and seamlessly continue the proceeding from the stage at which the mandate had expired, and conclude within the time granted, the court said. The provisions of Arbitration and Conciliation, 1996, makes it evident that the intention of the Parliament is to safeguard the conduct and conclusion of arbitral proceedings.

 

The apex court set aside a Madras High Court order that had rejected an arbitral award asking K. Indhera to pay money to C. Veluswamy. The high court had rejected Veluswamy's plea to extend the arbitral tribunal's mandate and held that if an award is passed subsequent to the expiry of the mandate of the arbitrator, it is a nullity and the application for extension of the mandate of the arbitrator is not maintainable. Setting aside the high court's order, the top court said that an application for extension of an arbitral tribunal is maintainable in the court even after the award was passed after the time expired. 

 

Veluswamy had argued that an application seeking to extend an arbitral tribunal's mandate is maintainable even after expiry of the prescribed period of 12 months or the extended six months. Indhera said that time cannot be extended after passing of the award as the 1996 Act contains no provision allowing post award extension.  End 

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Ashish Shirke

 

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