Law: Arbitration Act, 1940

Section: 16(1),16(b)

Award-Setting aside of-Claim time barred at the time of second reference to arbitration-Second award not valid.   The plaintiff obtained an award against the defendant for a certain sum of money. The award was filed in Court and on being made a rule of the Court a decree followed. The plaintiffs then applied for the execution of the decree but the application was dismissed on the ground that the decree was not executable. The plaintiff was asked to apply under S. 16 (l; (b) of the Arbitration Act, 1940 for the remittance of the award to the arbitrators for making it definite and capable of execution or for removing its imperfection under section 15 of the Act. The plaintiffs however adopted the course of making a new reference to arbitration and ultimately a new umpire gave a new award The defendant argued that the claim of the plaintiffs had become time-barred at the time of the second reference to arbitration and that therefore the umpire could not enter upon arbitration or being appointed as such at the time of the second reference. The plaintiffs on the other hand argued that the second arbitrator proceeding was in continuation of the first arbitration proceeding and therefore the time spent in obtaining an executable award was spent during the course of one proceeding and as such the original reference to arbitration continued to be operative.   Held, that the second arbitration proceeding was entirely independent of the previous proceeding. It was in fact taken as a substitute for the previous proceeding. The second reference to arbitration was time-barred and as such the second award could not be made a rule of the Court.   Ramdutt Ramkissen Das v. E. D. Sassoon & Co. A I R 1929 P C 103 and Chandanmull v. Donald Campbell & Co. 23 C W N page 707 distinguished. Date of hearing : 22nd January 1959.   JUDGMENT   Mr. H. H. Pirbhai filed in Court his award dated the 16th of July 1957 on the 1st of November 1957 with the object that it should be made a rule of the Court. The operative part of his award is as follows:   "That Messrs Sh. Mian Muhammad Allah Bakhsh do pay sum of Rs. 28,669/15/6 together with interest at…