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2014 (2) TMI 1423 - HC - Indian LawsValidity of Arbitral Award - ex-parte award - respondents had failed to appear in the arbitration proceedings - Section 16 of Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 - HELD THAT:- The court below has distinguished this judgment on the ground that in the present case the respondents did not appear before the arbitrator resulting in an ex-parte Award and therefore the Supreme Court judgment in the case of Narayan Prasad Lohia [2002 (2) TMI 1242 - SUPREME COURT] is not applicable. There cannot be a more perverse reading of the ratio of the Supreme Court judgment by the court below in the case of Narayan Prasad Lohia inasmuch as whether the Award is ex-parte or contested. Section 16 of the Act comes into play as also the ratio laid down in para. 16 of the judgment i.e. it is not open to a person who does not contest the arbitration proceedings by remaining ex-parte to raise objections under Section 34 of the Act with respect to jurisdiction because by failing to raise objection as to jurisdiction before the arbitrator objection as to jurisdiction is deemed to be waived. Trial court is completely unjustified in distinguishing the direct ratio of the judgment of the Supreme Court more so when the basis of distinguishing the ratio is on a wholly unacceptable basis because a person cannot take advantage of his own wrong in failing to appear before the arbitrator and not objecting to the jurisdiction and raising the objection for the first time in a petition under Section 34 challenging the existence of an arbitration agreement. In view of the above, appeal is allowed.
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